British couple detained in Iran on espionage charges PHOTO

A British couple has been charged with espionage after being detained in Iran during their round-the-world motorbike trip. 

Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both in their early 50s, were reportedly arrested in January after entering the country from Armenia for a five-day visit in December, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The Foremans face charges of allegedly gathering information from various locations within Iran. The couple had posted a selfie on Facebook from Isfahan on January 3, captioned: "What a wonderful place," before their arrest.

The timing of the couple’s detention coincides with the appointment of Iran's new ambassador to the UK, Seyyed Ali Mousavi, raising tensions between the two countries amid reimposed US sanctions on Iran.

Moreover, since 2010, at least 66 foreign and dual nationals have been detained by Iranian authorities, according to the University of Essex's research, a practice labelled as “politically motivated arrests” by Human Rights Watch.

In recent developments, Iranian state media released images of UK Ambassador Hugo Shorter meeting two British nationals, identified as "national security" suspects, in Kerman province. The meeting took place at the general and revolutionary prosecutor’s office, with officials from the province present.

The Foremans' relatives have expressed deep concern for their wellbeing, with one relative describing the couple's situation as “distressing.” The couple is being held in the southern city of Kerman, the same location where British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was transferred after her arrest in 2016.

Richard Ratcliffe, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, has called on UK ministers to respond “more promptly” than they did in his wife’s case. “A court process may soon come. It’s not a real court. But it will be a form of brutal theatre to get the government’s attention,” Ratcliffe stated.

The UK Foreign Office has issued a strong advisory against all travel to Iran, warning that British and dual nationals are at significant risk of arrest and detention. The Foreign Office has yet to comment on the Foremans’ case.

By Aghakazim Guliyev