Iran court extends British prisoner Craig Foreman’s sentence as hunger strike enters second month
A British man imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges has had his 10-year sentence extended by two years, according to his family, deepening concern over the fate of Craig Foreman and his wife Lindsay Foreman as both continue a hunger strike.
CBS News reports that the family received what it called “extremely concerning reports” that Craig Foreman, 52, had been brought before a judge and told his sentence had been increased. The family says the extension came after he spoke to the media. Joe Bennett, Lindsay’s son and the family spokesman, said Foreman was moved without prior notice, denied a lawyer and translator, and given no chance to defend himself. Those are serious allegations, but in the supplied material they are family claims and have not been independently verified by Iranian authorities.
The couple were arrested in January 2025 while traveling by motorcycle from Europe to Asia and were sentenced in February on espionage charges that their family, British officials and UN experts reject as baseless. They have been held for more than 18 months, much of that time in Tehran’s Evin prison. Their case has become one of the more visible examples of Iran’s use of disputed espionage prosecutions against foreign detainees.
The hunger strike adds a humanitarian layer to the legal dispute. According to the family, Craig Foreman began refusing food on May 9 and Lindsay Foreman joined him on May 18. This was their second hunger strike, following another protest in November 2025. The family says both have lost significant weight and their health is deteriorating. It also says a letter from relatives urging them to eat again has not reached them in prison.
The British Foreign Office told CBS News it was urgently following up with Iranian authorities about the reported extension. That indicates the case remains an active diplomatic concern for London, though the supplied material does not show any formal resolution or new consular access.
UN experts have already urged Iran to free the couple, saying they appear to have been wrongfully detained and sentenced after proceedings that failed to meet basic fair-trial guarantees. The family also says the couple has lost access to family calls again since May and is not receiving adequate medical care, according to HRANA.
What emerges from the reporting is a tightly connected set of pressures: a disputed espionage conviction, an alleged sentence increase, an ongoing hunger strike, and a family trying to keep international attention on a case that has grown more severe over time. The legal facts remain contested, but the human impact is not. The family says both detainees are weakening, and it is now asking for mercy, legal access and a political push to bring them home.
