Iran Extends Craig Foreman Sentence by 2 Years Over Media Contact

Q: What did Craig Foreman say to the media from his cell that triggered such a severe punishment from Iran?

Craig Foreman appears to have been punished for publicly declaring his and his wife’s innocence and urging the British government to intervene. According to the additional reporting, from his cell in Tehran’s Evin prison he said: “We are innocent people. We have committed no offence.” He also described their situation in stark terms, saying, “I just feel that we’re wasting our lives in here and rotting away,” and appealed directly to London: “Just take action. Speak out. Get us out. It seems to me we’re sitting here like sitting ducks.” He and Lindsay Foreman also reportedly told the media they felt “abandoned,” believed they were likely to remain imprisoned for a long time, and feared the channels for securing their release were closing. In Iran’s legal and political context, even those remarks could be treated as a national security or anti-state matter, especially because they involved speaking to foreign media from prison while under espionage charges. Reporting indicates the immediate retaliation included cutting off their phone access and banning them from seeing each other, before Craig was later told he had received an additional two-year sentence.

3 articles · Updated · ایران اینترنشنال · Jul 15

Craig Foreman, a British man jailed in Iran on espionage charges, received an extra two-year prison term after authorities accused him of speaking to the media from prison.
His family said the punishment was imposed without a lawyer or translator present, adding to concerns over the handling of his case.
Foreman was originally sentenced to 10 years in February 2025 after he and his wife Lindsay were arrested in January 2025 during a motorcycle trip and accused of spying.
The couple, held in Tehran's Evin prison about 18 months after their arrest, are now on hunger strike as the case deepens tensions over Iran's detention of foreign nationals.