A British couple jailed in Iran after being accused of espionage have ended their hunger strikes after 93 and 84 days respectively.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested in January 2025 while passing through Iran on a motorcycle journey from Europe to Australia. They were both sentenced to 10 years in jail in February, but Craig Foreman’s family said his punishment had been extended by two years after speaking to the media.

The couple from East Sussex, who both deny espionage, went on hunger strike in May when prison authorities prevented them from calling their families.

The family of the couple said they had been protesting against how they and other prisoners were being treated.

A spokesperson for the family said the couple agreed with prison guards to end their strike to be able to speak directly to their loved ones again.

However, the family said contact was yet to be re-established, as of Monday afternoon.

The family had also previously called for the couple to end their hunger strike.

Five people outside the prison joined the pair on their hunger strike for the final five days as an act of solidarity, the family added.

The fast ran from Tuesday to Saturday with Lindsay Foreman’s son Joe Bennett and four unnamed others taking part in the UK, as well as other prisoners inside Tehran’s Evin jail, the family said.

“My mum and Craig have spent months on hunger strike, and even at the point of bringing it to an end they wanted to make it about something bigger than themselves,” Bennett, from Folkestone in Kent, said.

“Those final five days became about people standing together around values that should be universal: Truth, justice, kindness, peace and unity.”

By the end of the protest, Craig Foreman had been on hunger strike for 93 days, and Lindsay Foreman for 84 days, the family added.

Although they said they were unaware of the condition of the pair, who had consumed just milk and either honey or salt in water during their strikes.

Bennett said the couple also went on a seperate hunger striker back in November as a “cry out for help”.

The family of the couple said the final five days of the latest protest aimed to “transform the last stage of the couple’s hunger strike from protest into something constructive and collective”.

The couple’s family recently met the UK’s first envoy for complex consular cases, Alistair Burt, and the new minister for the Middle East, Stephen Doughty.

Bennett said meetings had been “positive and constructive”.

“Now it is time for them to put their warm words into action and reach out to other states for support, reach out to Iran for discussions and name this as the arbitrary detention that it is,” he added.

“Sunday was the first time in three months my mum and Craig sat down to eat,” Bennett said.

“I will not rest until they can do it at home with us.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has been contacted for a comment.

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