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The son of a British couple who have remained jailed in Iran for more than a year is appealing to President Donald Trump as the war in Iran complicates the situation.
“Conditions have intensified over the last couple of weeks, to say the least, as you might imagine with the complexity of war,” Joe Bennett told Saturday.
He said the notorious Evin Prison, where his parents are being held in Tehran, was already at capacity, and a recent surge of protesters has created severely crowded conditions.
“Food is scarce,” he added. “We’re worried about the replenishment of their stocks of food. I mean, it’s unsanitary conditions. It has been described as ‘hell on Earth’ by them.
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Family and supporters of Lindsay and Craig Foreman hold up a sign in London calling for their freedom in January on the first anniversary of their detention. (Brook Mitchell/AFP via Getty Images)
“With the bombs that are dropping and the activity that’s happening there at the moment, the anxiety is heightened for us and for them as well.”
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested in January 2025 by Iranian authorities while on a global motorcycling trip and were later sentenced to 10 years in prison on suspicion of spying.
Bennett spoke in Washington, D.C., Thursday at the McCain Institute’s US-UK Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention, criticizing British leaders’ — namely Prime Minister Keir Starmer — “non-existent” advocacy for his parents, BBC News reported.
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“The clear message to the U.K. government and Starmer is to stop hiding behind this as a consular case,” Bennett told . “I think that was put out the window when they were sentenced to 10 years for espionage, accused of being spies for the Israeli Mossad and the U.K. government.
Joe Bennett, center, stands in front of 10 Downing Street in London with a petition in January. (Ben Whitley/PA Images via Getty Images)
“What we haven’t seen is leadership qualities from Keir Starmer. We haven’t seen him advocate since their sentencing to, as you say, condemn this sham process and the treatment of U.K. nationals.”
Starmer’s silence has left Bennett’s family feeling “let down,” he said. “We feel there’s an opportunity to do so and there still is.”
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Bennett stressed that his parents’ detention and sentencing “is hostage taking.”
Joe Bennett, the son of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, urged President Trump to be precise with Iranian strikes. (Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images)
“It affects not just the U.K., the U.S. as well and Western civilization,” Bennett added.
“Innocent people are being targeted for leverage as political pawns.”
He also urged Trump to be “concise” with Iranian strikes and not to forget that Brits and Americans are in that prison.
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“Two things I’d like to say to Mr. Trump is, firstly, that safety is important,” Bennett told . “Missiles have hit Evin in June of last year but also were very close.
“So, I think the target — I just want him to be concise that, you know, so that Evin isn’t a part of that, and, secondly, is to not forget that they are there.”
He noted that, along with his parents, U.S. nationals are also imprisoned at Evin.
“And as a humanitarian plea, from a son for his mother’s release is what I’m asking for,” he said.
