- 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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