Il Messaggiere - British couple held in Iran sentenced to 10 years

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both in their 50s, were arrested while travelling through the country on an around-the-world motorcycle journey, according to relatives, and have consistently denied Tehran's spying claims.

They are just the latest Westerners held by Iran since the Islamic revolution, with Tehran accused of so-called "hostage diplomacy" to extract concessions from its foes in Europe and from the United States.

News of the sentences comes amid heightened tensions over its nuclear programme, with US President Donald Trump deploying military assets to the region and again hinting he might strike the country.

The family said the sentencing followed a court appearance last October that lasted just three hours, where they were not allowed to present any defence.

"They have consistently denied the allegations. We have seen no evidence to support the charge of espionage," their son Joe Bennett said in a statement revealing the jail terms.

"We are deeply concerned about their welfare and about the lack of transparency in the judicial process."

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hit out at the sentences, calling them "completely appalling and totally unjustifiable".

- 'Tools' -

"We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family," Cooper said in a statement.

"In the meantime, their welfare is our priority and we will continue to provide consular assistance to them and their families."

The couple were first detained as they passed through Kerman, in central Iran, while on the round-the-world motorbike trip.

Tehran has insisted they are spies, with Iran's judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir last year alleging that the Foremans entered Iran "posing as tourists" and gathered information before their arrest.

Lindsay Foreman is currently being held in the women's section of Evin Prison in Tehran while Craig is in its political wing.

The prison has long been criticised by international human rights organisations for its dire conditions and treatment of prisoners.

In a BBC radio telephone interview conducted Wednesday before news of the sentences, Lindsay said her detention had been a "rollercoaster", revealing doing yoga regularly had been her "saviour".

"We have so few tools at our disposal. We have no voice... all we can do is write letters and go on hunger strike," she noted, adding the couple were "prepared to suffer" to protest their plight.

Lindsay said she also took responsibility for having entered Iran, against UK government travel advice.

She noted Iranian travel information said "guests are God's companions" and that "it was that version of the truth I wanted to understand".

- 'Step up' -

Giving his reaction to the BBC, Bennett said that while the length of the sentence was "shocking" the family hoped it could be "a step in a direction".

"Almost in a strange kind of way, we now know what we're facing, and once you know what you're facing, you can begin to fight it," he said.

Bennett added the UK government had previously said it was constrained until sentencing and that now "they can step up to the mark, and they should step up to the mark".

The family have been receiving advice from previous detainees in Iran and their relatives, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard.

She was released in 2022, after six years in detention, after a decades-old debt dispute between London and Tehran was settled.

Meanwhile, the family may take some encouragement from Iranian authorities last year releasing two French nationals, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, from jail in Tehran after more than three years.

Bennett and other relatives have been campaigning publicly on the case ever since their arrests.

They marked the one-year anniversary of the detentions by handing in a petition to Downing Street signed by tens of thousands of people urging the British government to do more to free them.

Z.Bianchi--IM