The son of a British couple who have been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year is appealing to President Donald Trump because the war in Iran is complicating the situation.
He said the infamous Evin Prison, where his parents are being held in Tehran, is already full, and that a recent wave of protesters has created very crowded conditions.
“Food is scarce,” he added. “We are concerned about replenishing their food supplies. I mean, it’s unsanitary conditions. They describe it as ‘hell on earth’.
FREED Iranian PRISONER SAYS ‘IN TRUMP, THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC HAS ITS MATCH’
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 falling and the activity going on there right now, it increases the fear for us and for them as well.”
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested by Iranian authorities in January 2025 during a global motorcycle trip and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on suspicion of espionage.
Bennett spoke in Washington DC on Thursday at the McCain Institute’s Transatlantic Conference on Hostage and Arbitrary Detention, criticizing British leaders’ – particularly Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s – “non-existent” advocacy for his parents, BBC News reported.
Americans stranded in Dubai are facing repeated flight cancellations amid an IRAN ESCALATION
Joe Bennett, center, stands outside 10 Downing Street in London in January with a petition. (Ben Whitley/PA Images via Getty Images)
“What we have not seen is Keir Starmer’s leadership qualities. We have not seen him advocate for condemning this sham trial and the treatment of British nationals since their conviction.”
Starmer’s silence has left Bennett’s family feeling “let down”, he said. “We feel there is an opportunity to do this and there still is.”
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Bennett emphasized that his parents’ detention and conviction constitutes a “hostage situation.”
Joe Bennett, the son of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, urged President Trump to be precise with Iranian attacks. (Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images)
“It affects not only Britain, but also the US and Western civilization,” Bennett added.
“Innocent people become targets of abuse of power as political pawns.”
He also urged Trump to be “succinct” about the Iranian attacks and not to forget that Britons and Americans are in that prison.
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“So I think the goal is – I just want him to keep it short, you know, so that Evin isn’t part of that, and secondly, to not forget that they’re there.”
He noted that, along with his parents, American citizens are also imprisoned in Evin.
“And as a humanitarian plea, I ask a son for the release of his mother,” he said.
