Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received reports on an increase in the number of expulsions of Baha'i university students in Iran since June 2017, and if he will make a statement.

The treatment of the Baha'i community in Iran is of particular concern. This includes recent reports of an increased number of Baha'i students being expelled from university, as well as the denial of access to higher education for adherents of the Baha'i faith, and reports of students being forced to renounce their faith in order to further their education. The British Government supports the UN Special Rapporteur's assessment that discrimination against the Baha'i community in Iran is aggravated by lack of recognition for the Baha'i faith in the Iranian constitution. We call on Iran to respect the rights and freedoms of all its citizens no matter what their religion or belief.