Iran extends British prisoner's sentence by two years, family says
A British man jailed in Iran on espionage charges was given an additional two-year prison term after authorities accused him of speaking to the media from prison, his family said.
A British man jailed in Iran on espionage charges was given an additional two-year prison term after authorities accused him of speaking to the media from prison, his family said.
Craig Foreman and his wife, Lindsay, were arrested in January last year while traveling through Iran by motorcycle on a journey from Europe to Australia. Both deny the espionage charges. They were each sentenced to 10 years in prison in February.
Joe Bennett, Lindsay Foreman's son and the family's spokesperson, said Craig Foreman was told he was being taken to see his lawyer but was instead brought before a judge and informed of the additional sentence.
“He was allowed no lawyer, no translator and no opportunity to defend himself,” Bennett said, adding that the family was “absolutely flabbergasted” by the decision.
The couple have been on hunger strike since May after prison authorities prevented them from calling their families. HRANA, a US-based human rights group, said last week that Craig Foreman had lost about 16 kilograms while Lindsay Foreman was suffering from dizziness and body tremors.
“My mum and Craig are 18 months into an ordeal they should never have known,” Bennett said. “They are weak, they are hungry, and now Craig is being punished simply for being heard. To add two more years to an innocent man's sentence, in secret and with no chance to defend himself, is a flagrant abuse of the most basic rights any person is owed.”
Last month, UN special rapporteurs Alice Edwards and Mai Sato called for the couple's release, saying they appeared to have been wrongfully detained and sentenced after proceedings that “failed to meet basic fair trial guarantees.”
Britain has advised against all travel to Iran since 2022, warning that British nationals may be detained because of their nationality or links to the UK. The Foreign Office has said it is working to secure the couple's release and that their welfare remains a priority. The family also welcomed the appointment this week of former Middle East minister Alistair Burt as Britain's first envoy for nationals detained abroad in complex cases.
“The scope of this case is extensive, and more than 200 complaints have so far been filed with the provincial prosecutor's office,” Lorestan prosecutor Ali Hassanvand said.
Three of the channels' main operators had been identified and detained, Hassanvand said.
Police in Lorestan had announced a day earlier that Telegram channels were publishing citizens' private photos with "immoral" content to attract followers and, in some cases, extorting victims and their families by demanding cryptocurrency payments.
Fears over women's safety
Shargh newspaper reported that the channels had attracted tens of thousands of members by publishing women's photos alongside insults, defamatory content and extortion demands.
The newspaper cited social media posts alleging that five girls had died by suicide and another had been killed by her father after their images were circulated. Those reports have not been officially confirmed.
An unnamed women's rights activist in Lorestan told Shargh the incident had heightened fears among women in the province.
“You have to live here and know the families to understand the consequences,” the activist said. “Some women in our province have become so frightened that they have removed their photos even from domestic and foreign messaging apps. Publishing a woman's picture in our city could cost her life.”
Women's rights advocates have long warned that weak legal protections and the persistence of so-called honor killings leave women exposed to violence in parts of Iran.
Extortion spreads beyond Lorestan
Saeed Sozangar, a network security instructor, told Shargh the channels appeared to be motivated by extortion and revenge, warning that some victims' lives could be at risk.
He said similar networks had also been identified in the cities of Malayer, Bukan and Kermanshah, suggesting the activity extended beyond Lorestan.
A citizen who contacted Iran International said the channels copied publicly available profile pictures of women without mandatory hijab from social media accounts and reposted them with highly insulting captions. The source added that anonymous submission links encouraged users to send photos of other women.
Similar channels, according to the citizen, have also appeared in Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Hamedan and Tehran provinces.
Mahmoud Nabavian lost his position as the committee's first deputy chairman, while Ebrahim Rezaei was replaced as the committee's spokesperson, according to the committee's annual leadership vote.
Ebrahim Azizi was elected committee chairman, Abbas Moghtadaei and Amir Hayat-Moghaddam were chosen as first and second deputy chairmen, Hassan Ghashghavi was elected spokesperson, and Behnam Saeedi and Yaghoub Rezazadeh became the committee's secretaries.
Critics of US negotiations
Nabavian and Rezaei had emerged as two of parliament's most vocal opponents of negotiations with Washington during and after the conflict with the United States and Israel.
Nabavian repeatedly argued that any agreement with Washington would amount to an "absolute loss" for Iran and said the country's experience of negotiations had only brought "broken promises, deception and benefits for the enemy."
He also criticized Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Earlier this month, Nabavian also vowed to oppose what he described as a "coup," accusing unnamed political rivals of trying to sideline hardline forces.
Rezaei also said Iran was not intimidated by what he described as threats from US President Donald Trump and that the country was "ready to fight any evil."
In a separate post, he praised the Revolutionary Guards for what he described as asserting Iran's authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
Leak controversy
Nabavian also came under scrutiny after reading excerpts on state television from what he described as secret correspondence from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on negotiations with the United States. The broadcast was cut off as he continued speaking.
Nabavian said Khamenei had repeatedly objected to the course of the talks and set conditions that were not reflected in the Iran-US memorandum of understanding, including securing compensation from the United States, preserving Iran's uranium enrichment program and maintaining exclusive Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz. He also said Khamenei wanted Iran to begin charging some ships to transit the waterway.
State broadcaster IRIB later said Nabavian's references to classified correspondence could warrant legal action. Ghalibaf adviser Amir Ebrahim Rasouli subsequently called on authorities to identify the source of what he described as confidential state information provided to Nabavian.
Parliament returns after months
The committee reshuffle came a day after parliament returned to session, with Deputy Speaker Hamidreza Hajibabaei presiding instead of Ghalibaf.
More than 250 lawmakers attended the session, during which legislators chanted slogans calling for revenge for the killing of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials killed in US and Israeli strikes.
Hardline lawmakers affiliated with the Paydari Front had spent months criticizing Ghalibaf for parliament's inactivity, accusing him of preventing lawmakers from meeting in order to avoid parliamentary action against negotiations with the United States. They also repeatedly called for Araghchi's resignation over the talks.
Ghalibaf's office said at the time that the suspension of parliamentary sessions had followed instructions from security authorities.
