- British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman are on a prolonged hunger strike in Iran's Evin prison , where they are serving 10-year sentences for espionage , which they vehemently deny. Lindsay has not eaten for 66 days and Craig for 75 days, with both now surviving solely on water and suffering severe health deterioration.
- Craig Foreman's sentence was recently extended by an additional two years for speaking to the press, a decision made without legal representation or a translator, further escalating concerns about their treatment.
- UN human rights experts have called for their urgent release, expressing grave concerns about state hostage-taking and warning that their hunger strike has reached a critical 'medical emergency' stage.
- The couple's family, 'sick with worry' and with phone contact cut off, are appealing to the new UK government, including prime minister Andy Burnham and foreign secretary Ed Miliband , for urgent diplomatic intervention, consular visits, and medical assistance.
- There are suggestions of a potential prisoner exchange involving an Iranian national held in a UK prison, which Craig Foreman believes is their only hope for release, despite the UK government denying any such arrangement.
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