Family handoutThe son of a British couple detained in Iran has said they do not have access to clean drinking water.
Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were arrested by the Iranian authorities in January on spying charges, which their family denies.
“Can you imagine being in a cell with over a dozen people… where the water from the tap isn’t safe to drink?” said their son Joe Bennett, who is from Kent.
The Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office has been approached for comment.
Mr Bennett said that Mr and Ms Foreman do not have any money, which is needed to buy essentials like bottled water and toilet paper in prison.
They have been relying on the generosity of fellow inmates to give them what they need, he said.
Mr Bennett called on the Foreign Office to get money to his parents.
“It’s hard to believe this is what they’re enduring,” he said.
“This isn’t about comfort. It’s about survival. Water, food, soap – the bare minimum.
“We still don’t know their real state of health and wellbeing.
“This is urgent. They need support now. Not next week. Not after more meetings – now.”
Temperatures in Iran’s capital Tehran, where Mr Foreman is being held separately from his wife, average at 35°C in August.
Ms Foreman, who was on a once-in-a-lifetime motorcycle trip around the world with her husband when they were detained, has been placed inside female-only Qarchak Prison.
The NGO Iran Human Rights calls the facility “one of the darkest symbols of systematic human rights violations” in Iran.
Violence, abuse, overcrowding, unsanitary drinking water, a lack of basic facilities and inadequate healthcare have also been documented by the NGO at the prison.
Mr Foreman has been detained in Fashafoyeh prison, where similar issues have been reported.
Brendan O’Hara, vice chair of the all-parliamentary group for arbitrary detention and hostage affairs, previously told the BBC that the East Sussex couple were “bargaining chips” between Iran’s government and Western states.
Iran has held British nationals in the past to pressure the UK amid political disputes.
