THE British government was blasted today for doing nothing to halt the outrageous jailing of a British couple in an Iranian hellhole prison.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman were snatched as they passed through the rogue state on a world motorcycling trip 13 months ago and .
Brits Craig and Lindsay Foreman, were sentenced to ten years in prison after being arrested last January
The couple were passing through Iran on a motorcycle trip when they were detainedCredit: AFP
Keir Starmer and his government have been accused of dragging their healsCredit: Getty
But Keir Starmer’s government has never declared clearly that the couple are not spies and that the charges are trumped up and preposterous.
And the Foreign office was facing a backlash today as the innocent couple faced a decade in among rats and violent cut-throats in Tehran’s notorious Evin .
Tory Shadow National Security Minister said: “The Iranian government are responsible solely for them being taken hostage but the British government should have done more to get them home earlier.
“They should be saying, very clearly, that the Foremans are not spies.
“But they are not willing to say that the Foremans are not spies and that is dangerous and wrong – they need to learn from previous cases.
“They need to have got them home before it got to trial and before it got to sentencing.”
Foreign Secretary called the sentence “completely appalling and totally unjustifiable” today.
The couple, both 53 from east were not allowed to present a defence and no evidence was presented against them at a three-hour hearing in at a revolutionary court in Tehran
Linday’s son Joe Bennett said his family “are deeply concerned about their welfare” and called on the British government to “act decisively and use every available avenue”.
The couple are being kept separately in filthy eight-foot-square cells surrounded by “dirt, vermin, and violence” and were losing weight, their family said.
They have spent awaiting their fate.
Evin prison is notorious for shackling political prisoners, journalists and even .
Reports on the horrific conditions inside have come from those who have managed to make it out.
, 43, spent 259 days in Evin and says she was treated like an animal and her .
The Foremans were allowed to appear before a hearing, which lasted three hours, at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in October.
Lindsay and Craig have spent 400 days languishing in a hellhole Iranian jailCredit: Reuters
Since their initial arrest they have been held in Tehran’s Evin prison – known as one of the nation’s most dire jailsCredit: Refer to source
But they were not allowed to make any defence.
the pair’s requests for bail have constantly been ignored.
Last month, renewed fears over the couple’s safety were made by the family amid the .
The at least 3,428 protesters amid the brutal crackdown, groups claim.
Joe said: “My mum and Craig are two innocent UK citizens that are caught up in the middle of all of this.
“So for us, it’s about their safety and prompt return home however that comes.”
The UK Foreign Office has been advising against all travel to for British citizens as tourists could be unlawfully detained.
Human rights groups say the regime tries to hold prisoners from foreign nations to use as leverage in diplomatic negotiations.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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