Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Russian nationals subject to UK sanctions are resident in the UK.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK Government cannot disclose information on residency status of those on the sanctions list. Details of all sanctioned individuals and entities are listed on the UK sanctions list, which can be found on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on the alleged persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised this issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Lord Ahmad also raised the matter with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022, and with Ministry of Interior officials on 8 December 2022.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the destruction of Palestinian villages located within Masafer Yatta in the West Bank.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property and the evictions of Palestinians from their homes is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon reinforced this message during a visit to a UK donor funded school facing demolition on 12 January.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on the detention of British citizen Alaa Abd El-Fattah since 21 November 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK Government makes regular representations about Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's imprisonment, welfare and lack of consular access and will continue to do so until his case is resolved. The Foreign Secretary and his Ministerial team have raised Mr El-Fattah's case on a number of occasions. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, most recently raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Ambassador on 5 December. The British Embassy Cairo also raise his case regularly with the Egyptian authorities.