A British couple held in Iran on espionage charges is set to appear in court Saturday for their latest hearing, their family said Wednesday, as they urged UK government action.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52, have been held since January after Iranian authorities seized the pair as they passed through Kerman, in central Iran, while on a round-the-world motorbike trip.

Tehran, which is detaining them in separate prisons in or near the capital, has insisted they are spies.

Their family has rejected the claim and complains they are being kept “completely in the dark” about their case.

Relatives only spoke to the pair for the first time in early August, and have grown increasingly frustrated at the handling of their case in Iran as well as at the support received from the British government in London.

“We need to be taken seriously. Our parents are innocent, they are enduring horrific conditions, and they are suffering repeated violations of their human rights,” their son Joe Bennett said in a statement sent to AFP.

“We are calling on the UK government to act,” he added, urging support for the couple in their court appearances and Lindsay’s requested transfer to Evin prison, where her husband is being held.

Bennett and other relatives also want London to ensure they receive better medical attention and regular family contact.

“They need real, tangible support, not just words,” he said, noting the family has written to new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper requesting an urgent meeting.

Last week, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs also wrote to Cooper demanding stepped-up action.

Relatives met last week with Britain’s Ambassador to Iran, Hugo Shorter, who confirmed the couple are facing “extremely tough prison conditions”, they said.

Lindsay is crowded in with around 70 others in a small area of Qarchak women’s prison, which human rights groups have repeatedly criticised for its reportedly dire conditions.

Craig is also held in an “overcrowded, cramped cell” in Evin, recently enduring a month without funds for food or water, the family noted.

“Both remain without basic necessities despite repeated attempts to deliver care packages,” they added.

AFP has contacted the foreign ministry in London for comment.