Craig Foreman and his wife, Lindsay Foreman, were detained while traveling through Iran during a round-the-world motorcycle trip at the beginning of 2025. The couple was convicted in February and sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, allegations they have consistently denied.

Their son, Joe Bennett, said the family had received reports that Craig Foreman was unexpectedly brought before a judge after being told he was being taken to meet his lawyer. Instead, he was informed that his sentence had been increased by two years.

“We have received extremely concerning reports that Craig has been sentenced to a further two years in prison,” Bennett said in a statement.

According to Bennett, Iranian authorities told his stepfather that the additional sentence had been imposed because he had spoken to members of the media while in custody.

“We understand he was told he was being taken to see his lawyer, but was instead brought before a judge and informed of the additional sentence,” Bennett said.

He added that the family was shocked by the reported decision, saying they believed Craig Foreman had been punished simply for making his situation public.

The reported extension comes as both Craig and Lindsay Foreman continue a prolonged hunger strike launched in May to protest their detention. According to the family, Craig has now gone 68 days without food, while Lindsay has been refusing food for 59 days.

Family members said both have lost significant weight and that their health continues to deteriorate as the protest continues.

“My mum and Craig are eighteen months into an ordeal they should never have known,” Bennett said, describing the additional prison term as a violation of fundamental rights and alleging that Craig Foreman had no opportunity to defend himself before the sentence was extended.

The Foremans entered Iran despite travel advice from the British Foreign Office warning against all travel to the country. Their family and friends had also advised them not to make the journey.

The couple are among a number of Western nationals detained by Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Tehran has repeatedly faced accusations from Western governments of engaging in what critics describe as “hostage diplomacy” by detaining foreign citizens to gain political leverage in disputes with European countries and the United States. Iran has denied such allegations.

The latest development comes a day after Iran criticized a British proposal to outlaw support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps alongside an Iran-linked organization accused of carrying out attacks against the Jewish community.

Iranian authorities had not publicly responded to the family’s latest claims at the time of publication.

Lawyer Joao Henrique de Freitas said in a post on X that Bolsonaro’s legal team had already informed authorities of the location of all firearms linked to the former president before the search took place.

“The defense had already previously informed the whereabouts of all the weapons. Result: Nothing was found,” de Freitas wrote.

The search was first reported by newspaper Estadao, which said the operation had been authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

The search comes as Bolsonaro continues serving a 27-year prison sentence imposed after he was convicted of plotting a coup following his defeat in Brazil’s 2022 presidential election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The 71-year-old former president has been serving the sentence since November. Last week, Justice Moraes authorized him to remain under house arrest because of ongoing health concerns stemming from injuries sustained in a knife attack during his 2018 presidential campaign.

The latest police operation follows another firearms-related incident involving Bolsonaro’s security detail. Last month, police seized a firearm belonging to the former president during a checkpoint inspection involving one of his security personnel.

Following that episode, Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet recommended that Bolsonaro remain under house arrest. His opinion was requested by Justice Moraes as authorities reviewed the implications of the firearm seizure.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has played a central role in overseeing legal proceedings involving the former president since investigations into alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2022 election began.

Wednesday’s search did not result in the discovery or seizure of any weapons or ammunition, according to Bolsonaro’s lawyer. Authorities had not issued further public details about the operation or indicated whether additional investigative measures would follow.

The search marks the latest development in the legal cases surrounding Bolsonaro, whose post-presidential political and legal challenges have continued alongside court proceedings related to the aftermath of Brazil’s 2022 election.

The woman was detained in May at a rented residence on the tourist island of Lombok after police learned she had received a delivery containing liquid cannabis, narcotics officer I Nyoman Diana Mahardika said on Thursday.

According to police, the suspect told investigators that she used the cannabis vape product to alleviate knee pain and depression. Authorities said the explanation would not exempt her from prosecution under Indonesian law, which prohibits the possession, use and distribution of marijuana and cannabis-derived products.

“She must comply with the laws and regulations in force in our country. As for narcotics such as marijuana, it must not be possessed, used, or traded within our jurisdiction,” Mahardika said.

If convicted, the woman faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to two billion rupiah ($111,000), according to police.

The case underscores the legal risks facing foreign nationals in Indonesia, which maintains some of the world’s toughest anti-drug regulations. The country retains the death penalty for drug trafficking offenses, although it has not carried out an execution since 2016.

Indonesia currently has dozens of convicted drug traffickers on death row. The last executions were conducted in 2016, when authorities executed four drug convicts by firing squad, including three Nigerian nationals and one Indonesian citizen.

The arrest follows other recent narcotics prosecutions involving foreign nationals. In March, two British men were sentenced to nine and 11 years in prison after being found guilty of smuggling cocaine to the resort island of Bali.

Authorities did not provide further details regarding the source of the cannabis liquid or indicate when formal charges may be filed.

Yunus, a member of rights group KontraS, suffered severe injuries and lost sight in one eye after two men on a motorcycle threw acid at him in March shortly after he recorded a podcast discussing the military’s role in government.

The four defendants, all members of Indonesia’s Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), are charged with premeditated assault. Prosecutors told a military court in Jakarta that the attack was an act of personal revenge rather than an operation ordered by military superiors.

According to prosecutors, the accused were angered by Yunus and another activist’s protest against revisions to Indonesia’s military law, which expanded the number of government institutions that can employ active-duty military personnel.

The case drew national attention after BAIS chief Yudi Abrimantyo stepped down following the arrests. Rights groups have called for the proceedings to be moved to a civilian court, citing concerns about transparency and accountability.

The court is expected to continue hearing arguments before delivering a verdict.

The three-judge panel dismissed Tarrant’s claim that harsh prison conditions and poor mental health had caused him to plead guilty involuntarily in March 2020, concluding there was no evidence he had suffered from a mental impairment that affected his legal judgment.

“He was not suffering from a mental impairment or any other form of mental incapacity which rendered him unable to voluntarily change his pleas to guilty,” the judges wrote in their decision.

The court said the Australian national, now 35, had attempted to mislead judges about his mental state in what it described as “a weak attempt to advance an appeal,” adding that evidence showed he had made an informed and rational decision when he admitted guilt.

Tarrant carried out the attacks in March 2019, driving to two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers and opening fire with semiautomatic weapons, killing 51 people and injuring dozens more in New Zealand’s deadliest modern mass shooting.

His guilty pleas a year later spared victims’ families and survivors from a lengthy public trial, which many feared would give him a platform to spread extremist views.The appeal court noted that Tarrant’s bid to challenge those pleas was filed 505 days after the legal deadline, but it proceeded to hear the matter because of its public significance.

During a five-day hearing in February, Tarrant argued that “irrationality” caused by poor mental health had temporarily led him to abandon his white supremacist ideology and plead guilty.

The judges rejected that argument, saying prison staff, mental health professionals and his former lawyers did not support his claims. They also noted that he had accepted the summary of facts presented by police and the sentencing judge, while the evidence against him was overwhelming.

That evidence included video footage of the attack that Tarrant filmed himself and livestreamed online, clearly showing his face, as well as a manifesto outlining his racist ideology that he published under his real name before the shootings.

The ruling also disclosed that Tarrant sought to abandon the appeal shortly after presenting his case in February, but judges refused, saying the matter was of “significant public interest and should be finally determined.”They said he appeared to conclude the hearing was not going in his favor and then attempted to withdraw the case after proceedings ended.

Tarrant was sentenced in August 2020 to life imprisonment without parole, the first such sentence in New Zealand’s history. He remains in Auckland Prison.The judges allowed him to abandon a separate appeal against that sentence, which had been scheduled to be heard later in 2026.

The pardon was announced during clemency measures marking the Full Moon Day of Kason, observed as Buddha’s Birthday and Demise, with state media reporting that 1,519 prisoners, including 11 foreigners, were granted amnesty and sentences for remaining convicted inmates were reduced by one-sixth.

Two legal officials familiar with the matter said the measure would further reduce Suu Kyi’s sentence by one-sixth, though they did not specify the exact number of years remaining. Based on previous sentence reductions, the 80-year-old is expected to still have more than 13 years left to serve.

The amnesty is the second in two weeks, following an earlier pardon on April 17 in which more than 4,500 prisoners were released and prison terms under 40 years were cut by one-sixth.

It was not immediately clear how many political prisoners detained for opposing military rule were included in Thursday’s latest clemency.Suu Kyi was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, when the military seized power from her elected government, ending a decade of partial civilian rule and triggering nationwide protests that later evolved into a prolonged armed conflict.

She was originally sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022 on multiple charges ranging from corruption to election-related offenses, cases widely criticized by her supporters and international rights groups as politically motivated and designed to legitimize the army’s takeover while blocking her return to public life.

Her sentence was first reduced to 27 years in August 2023 and was cut again by more than four years during the April 17 amnesty.She is believed to be serving her sentence at an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital, under tightly controlled conditions.

There were reports last week that she could be moved to house arrest as part of the latest clemency measures, but authorities have not confirmed such a transfer.Information about her health remains limited. Reports in recent years have suggested declining health, including low blood pressure, dizziness and heart-related concerns, though these accounts have not been independently verified.

Her legal team has not been permitted to meet her in person since December 2022.The military government is now led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who was sworn in as president on April 10 following an election widely criticized by opponents as neither free nor fair and designed to preserve military control.

In his inauguration speech, Min Aung Hlaing said his administration would grant amnesties aimed at promoting social reconciliation, justice and peace.According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people have been detained in Myanmar since the coup, while the conflict that followed has killed thousands.

Before her latest imprisonment, Suu Kyi had already spent nearly 15 years under house arrest between 1989 and 2010 for opposing military rule, a struggle that made her an international symbol of democratic resistance and earned her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, military coup, prison sentence, prisoner amnesty, Min Aung Hlaing, Naypyitaw, Nobel Peace Prize, Buddhist holiday, Full Moon Day of Kason, political prisoners, military rule, civil war, democracy movement, house arrest, Myanmar election, junta government, human rights, political detention, Southeast Asia, state media, prison clemency

Kabli, 23, who performs under the stage name L7assal and is also a member of the banned but tolerated Islamist movement Al Adl Wal Ihssane, had been sentenced in March after being arrested on charges of insulting a public body and undermining respect for constitutional institutions.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of four years in prison under Moroccan law.Speaking after the appeal hearing in the northeastern city of Taza, lawyer Mohammed Taifi said the ruling was unjustified and argued that his client had only exercised his right to express opinions without intending to offend state institutions or public officials.

“It’s an error of judgment. There was no intention to offend anyone, nor were there any explicitly offensive remarks,” Taifi said.He said Kabli had told the court that his music and social media posts were aimed at expressing views on corruption and foreign policy issues, including Rabat’s decision to normalize relations with Israel, rather than insulting individuals or constitutional bodies.

The case has drawn criticism from rights advocates, with the Moroccan Association for Human Rights calling for Kabli’s release and for all charges to be dropped.The group described the prosecution as a political attempt to restrict freedom of expression and silence dissenting voices.

Morocco normalized ties with Israel in 2020 under a U.S.-backed agreement that generated domestic debate, particularly among Islamist groups and pro-Palestinian activists.

Al Adl Wal Ihssane, though officially banned, remains one of Morocco’s most influential opposition Islamist movements and frequently criticizes government policy.

The conviction is part of a broader investigation into the embezzlement of funds allocated for border defense infrastructure in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine.

Authorities have pursued multiple former officials in the region following allegations that money intended to strengthen frontier defenses was misappropriated.

Parts of the Kursk region were seized by Ukrainian forces for several months in 2024, underscoring its strategic importance.

Details of the specific charges against Smirnov were not immediately disclosed, but the case reflects an ongoing crackdown on corruption linked to defense spending in border areas.