Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether on his recent visit to Saudi Arabia he raised the case of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish who is facing the death penalty for protest-related crimes he is alleged to have committed as a child in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The United Kingdom strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. The Saudi authorities are well aware of the UK's opposition to the use of the death penalty. We reiterated our opposition to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia in a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September 2020.
We regularly raise our concerns about the use of the death penalty, including individual cases with the Saudi authorities and we will continue to do so. The Foreign Secretary raised human rights issues, notably around justice reform and freedom of media expression during his visit of 7 June 2021. I raised the use of the death penalty with the Saudi Human Rights Commission during my visit to Saudi Arabia on 24 May.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Iran to ensure that Mehran Raoof is able to meet with a lawyer and receive appropriate legal representation before and at his trial; and whether a representative of his Department will attend that trial which is due to take place on 28 April.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are supporting the family of Mehran Raoof during this difficult time, are in close contact with them and following their wishes in providing the support they want from us. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise the UK's serious concerns about Iran's practice of detaining foreign and dual nationals with Foreign Minister Zarif, most recently on 3 April, and the Prime Minister has raised the issue with President Rouhani, most recently on 10 March.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
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 the Government of Saudi Arabia on the disbandment of the Rapid Intervention Force after it was implicated in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by the declassified CIA report.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK has always been clear that Jamal Khashoggi's murder was a terrible crime. We condemn his killing in the strongest possible terms, which is why we have sanctioned twenty Saudi nationals involved in the murder under the global human rights regime.
The Foreign Secretary raised the killing of Jamal Khashoggi during his visit to Riyadh last year, and we continue to raise it in our engagement with the Saudi government.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing Magnitsky-style sanctions against Mohammed bin Salman.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
It is not appropriate to speculate who may be designated under the sanctions regime in the future. To do this could reduce the impact of designations.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Saudi Arabian authorities on the treatment and detention of (a) Prince Turki bin Abdullah, (b) Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and (c) other senior political detainees in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We continue to monitor the cases of Prince Turki bin Abdullah and Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef. The Foreign Secretary raised a number of human rights issues during his visit to Saudi Arabia last year. On 3 March 2021, Lord Ahmad raised a number of human rights issues with the Saudi President of the Human Rights Commission. FCDO Ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights in our engagement with the Saudi authorities. We have consistently pressed for due process and raised concerns about the use of solitary confinement, lack of family contact and allegations of torture.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Bahrain on the detention of Hussein Abdulrasool, Fares Husain, Mohammed Jafar and Sayed Hasan Ameen; and whether a UK Government representative will attend their hearing on 11 March 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have followed the detention of Hussein Abdulrasool, Fares Husain, Mohammed Jafar and Sayed Hasan Ameen, arrested for arson, endangering the lives and property of others, and preparing and possessing Molotov cocktails, and will continue to monitor and raise their cases if and when appropriate. We understand the hearing took place on 11 March 2021 and that all were sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, which was replaced with a rehabilitation program under alternative sentencing arrangements within the spirit of the new Child Reform Justice Act. We welcome this retroactive application of the new law's content and purpose. Due to Covid restrictions, it was not possible for Embassy staff to attend the hearing in person.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Bahrain on the release on medical and compassionate grounds of Sayed Hasan Ameen before his hearing on 11 March 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have followed the detention of Sayed Hasan Ameen who was arrested with others for arson, endangering the lives and property of others, and preparing and possessing Molotov cocktails, and will continue to monitor and raise his case if and when appropriate. We understand the hearing took place on 11 March 2021 and that he was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, which was replaced with a rehabilitation program under alternative sentencing arrangements within the spirit of the new Child Reform Justice Act. We welcome this retroactive application of the new law's content and purpose. Due to Covid restrictions, it was not possible for Embassy staff to attend the hearing in person.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2020 to Question 126811, on Palestinians: Radicalism, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) possible timeline for the Palestinian Authority's revision of educational textbooks and (b) the potential effect of those revisions on affairs in that region.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We understand that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has already updated textbooks for grades 1-6 and hopes to update the remaining textbooks as soon as possible. The independent review of the content in Palestinian textbooks led by our European partners will include a sample of these textbooks introduced for school year 2020-21. We expect the study to be complete in the near future and will study its findings carefully. The UK will continue to engage with the PA on their plans to revise the remaining textbooks for grades seven and above.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make urgent representations to the Government of Bahrain for the immediate and unconditional release of (a) Hussein Ayoob and (b) Mohammed Rashid who have been detained since 7 February 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of the detention of Mohammed Rashid and Hussein Ayoob, and are monitoring developments. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to follow due process in all cases and meet its international and domestic human rights commitments.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with their EU counterparts on the Georg Eckert Institute review of Palestinian textbooks; and when the findings of that review will be published.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK remains in close dialogue with our European partners regarding the ongoing review of Palestinian textbooks, including urging them to complete the review as soon as possible. We understand the EU are now moving towards the final reporting stage of the study and we expect the review to be completed in the near future. The UK has repeatedly lobbied the EU to push for publication, but this is ultimately a decision for the EU.