British couple held in Tehran jail caught in US-Iran conflict crossfire as bombs shatter home windows | EUROtoday

The British couple jailed in Tehran instructed how bombs exploding subsequent to their jail shattered home windows and induced plaster to rain down from the ceiling.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, have been sentenced final month to 10 years in jail on disputed espionage costs after being arrested whereas travelling by way of Iran on a worldwide bike tour in January 2025.

Now residing by way of the Israeli-US bombardment of Iran, they recounted how final Saturday afternoon a bomb exploded near Evin Prison.

The sudden explosion shook the power so laborious that plaster fell from the ceiling onto inmates in Mr Foreman’s cell, campaigners stated.

Ms Foreman, who was on the cellphone to her son on the time, described a scene of mass hysteria as girls dived underneath bunk beds for canopy, awaiting the following strike.

Her son recounted in The Times how his mom “screamed as the force of the bomb tore through the prison wings”. He stated he might hear within the background the “screams of dozens of other women” earlier than the road reduce out.

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Campaigners for the Foremans stated that the authorized course of in Iran has “effectively collapsed” for the reason that battle broke out, leaving their future unsure because the Foreign Office works for his or her enchantment and launch.

Family members final month described a “show trial” wherein the couple weren’t allowed to current a defence, and noticed no proof of alleged espionage, after over a 12 months held in gruelling circumstances.

The courts that sentenced the couple have reportedly been focused within the strikes, and the couple’s state-appointed lawyer has left the nation, campaigners stated in an announcement shared with The Independent.

Mr Bennett wrote that the guards the couple knew are “slowly being replaced” by armed police personnel. “They have little real contact with them, but in these circumstances they feel more vulnerable than ever,” he stated.

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He added the recommendation supplied by the Foreign Office was “standard travel advice for tourists”.

“That is hardly illuminating or reassuring when your parents are trapped in a prison in the middle of a war zone,” he stated. “It is shocking that bureaucracy and back covering continues even in this crisis. The danger has clearly escalated and there are British citizens in real and immediate danger who appear to have been abandoned.”

Mr Bennett is to deal with the US Capitol subsequent week on the Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention as he fights for his mother and father’ launch.

“Neither the prime minister nor the foreign secretary have responded to our petition delivered to Downing Street earlier this year. My letters to them have also gone unanswered,” he stated.

“My parents are not spies. They are innocent tourists who have been taken hostage. Pretending otherwise does not make the problem go away.”

The household has arrange a petition and a fundraiser to help the marketing campaign.

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An FCDO spokesperson instructed The Independent: “The welfare of British nationals detained in Iran is a priority for this government and continues to be during the current situation in the Middle East.

“The safety and security of our nationals, including those detained continues to be important, however it’s important to recognise the changing travel advice across the region.

“Craig and Lindsay’s sentences are completely appalling and totally unjustifiable, and we will continue to pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian regime and will do so until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family.

“We continue to provide consular assistance to them and their family.”