‘They aren’t criminals, they are mum and dad’: Son of UK couple emotional over parents arrest in Iran; no direct talks in over 6 months

The son of a British couple detained in Iran on espionage expenses had broke down when he learnt about his parents’ arrest, insisting they are harmless vacationers.“I want to be crystal clear, my parents aren’t spies, they’re not political players, they aren’t criminals. They’re Mum and Dad,” Joe Bennett, the son of the couple mentioned whereas chatting with BBC Breakfast on Wednesday.Bennett mentioned he final spoke to his parents on January 3, simply earlier than they have been arrested. The household was knowledgeable of their detention in late January and discovered in February that they had been charged with spying.“I didn’t know what to do or where to turn,” Bennett recalled.Since their arrest, the household has obtained solely a single “generic letter” from his mom. Their wellbeing updates have come solely via three welfare checks carried out by UK embassy officers, the newest in May.“That’s tough when you’re used to hearing someone’s voice every day,” he mentioned. “You always go back to how they must be feeling, that’s the one thing that gets the family the most.”He additionally spoke in regards to the June battle between Iran and Israel, calling the interval “terrifying,” because the household had no concept if the couple have been “okay or safe.”The couple, each 52, have been because of be transferred to Evin jail on June 8. The facility was later bombed by Israel on June 23. The escalation prompted the UK authorities to evacuate its embassy employees from town.Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been on what their household described as a “once-in-a-lifetime” motorcycle journey internationally. They entered Iran from Armenia on December 30 final yr, staying in lodges in Tabriz, Tehran, and Isfahan, however by no means reached their subsequent vacation spot, Kerman. They have been arrested in January.Bennett mentioned the household had raised issues about their plans to journey to Iran, however emphasised that his parents had adopted official procedures.(*6*) he mentioned.“They followed every guideline in the book they could… that clearly wasn’t enough.”In February, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary claimed the couple had entered the nation “under the guise of tourists” and “gathered information” in numerous areas.The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) at present advises in opposition to all journey to Iran, warning that British nationals and these with twin British-Iranian citizenship are at “significant risk” of arrest, questioning, or detention.“We know where we stand and what we want, it’s over to you to make this happen,” Bennett mentioned, urging the international workplace to behave.An FCDO spokesperson mentioned: “We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities. We’re providing them with consular assistance and we remain in close contact with the family.”