A British couple held in Iran on espionage charges have appeared in a Tehran court represented by a state-appointed lawyer, their family said on Thursday.

Little has been known about the plight of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52, since Iranian authorities seized the pair in Kerman, in central Iran, in early January.

They were passing through the country while on a round-the-world motorbike trip, but Tehran has claimed they are spies. Their family has rejected the claim.

In Thursday's update, relatives said in a statement sent to AFP that the couple was "unexpectedly brought before a court in Tehran yesterday (Wednesday) with a state-appointed lawyer", prompting fresh fears over their........

© Al Monitor