British Couple Sentenced To 10 Years For Spying In Iran.

[WhatSharonSaidNext]

Year after year we see high profile campaigns to release prisoners in Iran on spurious charges. Family members petition and lobby the Foreign Office to intervene as the years slip by. You would have to be living under a rock somewhere not to know that Iran is not a safe country for westerners to travel through and that if you do decide to go against advice and common sense you may not be coming home any time soon.

In the past the Foreign Office have specifically warned British citizens not to travel there. Yet still we have these stupid people who continue to go there risking their own safety expecting the foreign office to spend tax payers money bailing them out when it all goes wrong. I wonder how much of that gets paid back when they eventually get released and sell their stories? Seriously, what on earth is wrong with these people? Why do they think they are so important? Can’t possibly avoid one of the most corrupt countries on the planet, oh no, let’s just drive straight through it. What could possibly go wrong? …

Am I really being unreasonable to think these people are being more than a little bit irresponsible to put themselves in these situations and then expect that just because they are British they have some sort of immunity from anything happening to them?

Is it honestly reasonable for a retired British couple to travel through one of the most politically dangerous countries on earth as part of a nice biking tour, thinking it would be a good idea?

And rather than just clicking you are being unreasonable for the sake of it, could people explain why they think it is a perfectly reasonable thing to do please? Why it’s reasonable for a retired British couple to risk their own safety travelling to a country where everyone knows it is complete madness for a British citizen to travel and why it’s reasonable to expect the Government to sort your own stupidity out afterwards at the cost of tens of thousands of pounds, in a country that despises Britain and is widely known to routinely detain British nationals to use as political pawns?

https://news.sky.com/story/british-couple-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-in-iran-family-say-13503275

It always seemed like a very stupid thing to do to me. Oh yes the beauty of ancient Persian empire sounds amazing, but it’s a country run by knuckle dragging despots. Why go?

They were very foolish. What an incredibly tough lesson to learn.

TBH I never understand why anyone would ever risk visiting that rogue-state country.

Around here there are quite a lot of Iran-origin people who moved to the U.K. in the 70s, and now often have long-grown up children (the dental practice I use is staffed almost entirely by such people) - who I’m sure would be very interested to visit their ‘ancestral’ homeland, but have far too much sense to risk it.

They were very foolish.

We have an Iranian friend who has been living in the UK for many years and has a family here. He has never taken his children to Iran to meet his mother because he knows it is just too much of a risk. These people had no compelling reason to go there. They were stupid and irresponsible.

Obviously, I hope that they will be freed, but this is a mess entirely of their own making.

I agree that visiting Iran was completely irresponsible on their part. And I'm not sure that the government should bale people out when they travel against very clear advice.
However... The couple are paying a heavy price indeed. Even if they are released now, a year in an Iranian jail is going to leave permanent scars.
It doesn't feel particularly kind to play the blame game now. I imagine they've learnt their lesson without us piling on.

I’m not even that well traveled but it wouldn’t even enter my mind for a second to do something like this because I already know the likely outcome. Who doesn’t ? I just can’t fathom what goes on in these people’s heads. And now we have the predictable wailing and gnashing of teeth from the family about how they feel abandoned by the British Government - which makes it even more seem like yes, there never was a Plan B. They really did expect the government to just bail them out .

Off you pop on your tour of Iran then dear xx

They were foolish..I still feel very, very sorry for them. And their family.

In the past the Foreign Office have specifically warned British citizens not to travel there

FWIW in the not so distant past the FCO were OK with some travel to Iran.

One UK airline that served Teheran had crews on several day slips (layovers) in the city...by all reports it was fine and the locals were welcoming..but those involved were careful about what they said and did...but that was then..(maybe a decade back).

I'm not excusing the Iranian authorities but I get the impression some of those caught up in this recently hadn't NB'd that FCO advice changes regularly and also been more than somewhat naive with regard to some of their behaviour.

Or... somewhere in between without going to the extreme opposite?

What a pointless comment.

Anyone with half a brain must surely be aware that Iran is a rogue state, and given very clear and explicit Foreign Office warnings about NOT visiting, I’m afraid I have very little sympathy for anyone who blithely ignores all Red Danger signs.

They were incredibly stupid but I do feel for them. Awful conditions to spend so long in. It's horrible.

I also think they were foolish but I just can’t find it in me to feel sorry for them given the widespread knowledge about the risk to British nationals in Iran. They would have been told this anyway before they went there and chose to ignore it.

They were hippy dippy love-is-in-the-air types.
Sigh. I hope things change.

Yes, you're right, there are only two countries in the world, Iran and the UK. There was literally nowhere else they could have travelled to instead.

They've been hit with a huge dose of reality now! Unfortunately for them they learnt the hard way.

Yes, those were the only two options available to them 🙄

Because they are extremely arrogant and very stupid. People like this, think rules do not apply to them.

@CanIHelpItIfImALittleTense
Get your facts straight. They fucked off to live in Spain in 2019, but it’s the UK government that will bail them out.

I also feel so sorry for British- Iranians who can never see their family unless they meet in a third country, which will be harder as they get older. I believe that's why Nazanin Zaghari- Ratliffe and Anousheh Ansari went to Iran.

What a stupid post.

I think this is a very mean post. They had a visa, they had an approved tour guide. It is such a sad story. Their family must be in agony. What do you hope to gain by gloating about it?

So travel to Egypt, Morocco or Jordan...so to South East Asia, India...there's a fucking huge world to explore.

No. I'm middle class I should have the right to go where I want. And when it all goes to shit my family will complain that the British government...who told me not to go in the first place...isn't doing enough.

The fucking arrogance of this couple and their family is just astounding. There's an American phrase that really fits "fuck around, find out"

Many people travel to Iran safely. The problem is when you do something that indeed looks suspicious. In this instance, Lindsay who is a psychologist and 'life coach' was undertaking 'research' and interviewing local people....of course this is going to look very suspicious...

Iran would be the last place on my list to visit especially with the rising tensions with the USA at the moment.