By now you will have probably seen in the news that Lindsay and Craig’s appeal against their baseless ten-year espionage conviction has failed; an appeal they were not permitted to attend, conducted in a language they do not speak, on the basis of arguments they were never properly consulted on. The circumstances surrounding the appeal are as troubling as the outcome itself. Our understanding of the legal process that happened behind closed doors is limited. It has been chaotic and opaque throughout. 

Craig is now on day 26 of his hunger strike and Lindsay is on day 17. Sadly, direct communication has been cut off with their family by their jailors. We do however know, from messages received from various sources, that they are currently ok, although Craig is reportedly weakening at the moment. We are asking the Foreign Office to step up the pace and urgently visit them – the British Embassy reopened on 23 May but they have still not been seen.

Thank you to those of you who wrote to your MPs. We received confirmation from 111 people  – this is huge. The APPG on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs is writing another letter to the Prime Minister this week, calling on him to put in place the actions we outlined. All of those MPs, amongst others, will be directly contacted and asked to sign the APPG letter.

Your support is so important to the family so thank you once again. Thank you for your generosity with donations through Go Fund Me. Please do continue to share the petition. This is such a critical moment for them and our thoughts remain constantly with them. 

From the family and friends of Lindsay and Craig