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'Everyone in this prison has had family killed or shot'

March 26, 2026

Lindsay Foreman, a British woman from East Sussex, is detained in Tehran's Evin Prison alongside her husband Craig after Iranian authorities arrested them in January 2025 on espionage charges that their family denies. During her imprisonment, Foreman has witnessed the profound impact of ongoing conflict on fellow inmates, with every prisoner having lost family members to government violence or seen their homes destroyed in recent fighting between Iran and US-Israel forces. She describes terrifying conditions during airstrikes, where inmates hide under beds as missiles shake the poorly-constructed buildings that lack basic safety features or escape routes.

Who is affected

  • Lindsay Foreman and her husband Craig Foreman (British travelers detained in Iran)
  • Joe Bennett (Lindsay's son in Folkestone, Kent)
  • Iranian inmates at Evin Prison and their families
  • Ordinary Iranian citizens affected by military strikes and government crackdowns
  • Brendan O'Hara (vice chair of the all-parliamentary group for arbitrary detention and hostage affairs)

What action is being taken

  • Lindsay Foreman is running laps around the prison's concrete courtyard
  • She is studying psychology and Persian (Farsi)
  • War between Iran and the US and Israel is ongoing (broke out on 28 February)
  • US-Israeli strikes are being conducted on Tehran
  • Inmates are hiding under beds during airstrikes

Why it matters

  • This situation highlights the humanitarian crisis affecting both foreign detainees and Iranian citizens during an active military conflict. The case demonstrates how innocent civilians can become pawns in geopolitical struggles, with the Foremans being held as potential "bargaining chips" between Iran and Western nations. The account also reveals the dangerous conditions prisoners face during warfare, trapped in structurally unsafe buildings with no evacuation options during missile strikes, while exposing the broader suffering of Iranian people who have experienced widespread government violence and destruction of their communities.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC