Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the execution of Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are very concerned about the case of Ali Mohammed Al Nimr. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level. We will continue to follow this case closely. The UK opposes the death penalty in all cases. Ministers, our Ambassador, and the Embassy team frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, bilaterally and through the European Union.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure Saudi Arabia ceases its persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief.
The public practice in Saudi Arabia of any form of religion other than Islam is illegal, however, the Saudi authorities do accept foreign workers privately practising religions other than Islam. These restrictions on freedom of religion or belief reflect widely held conservative social values in Saudi society.
Our position on human rights in Saudi Arabia is a matter of public record. We have regularly made our views known, including through the UN Universal Periodic Review process and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual Human Rights and Democracy Report, in which Saudi Arabia continues to be a designated priority country. We raise our human rights concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels of communication.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the death sentence handed out to Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are very concerned about the case of Ali Mohammed Al Nimr. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level. We will continue to follow this case closely. The UK opposes the death penalty in all cases. Ministers, our Ambassador, and the Embassy team frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, bilaterally and through the European Union.