Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Government holds on the (a) arrest (b) trial and (c) imprisonment in Azerbaijan of the investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli.

We have serious concerns about Afghan Mukhtarli's alleged abduction in Georgia. Our Embassy in Tbilisi has raised the circumstances of Mr Mukhtarli's abduction with the Georgian authorities, and we have urged the Georgian Government to conduct an open and transparent investigation into this incident as soon as possible.

We also consider Afghan Mukhtarli's trial and sentencing at the Balakan District Court in Azerbaijan to be politically motivated and part of a pattern of convictions of journalists, political and human rights activists in Azerbaijan. We continue to call on the Government of Azerbaijan to review the case urgently. Our Embassy in Baku will continue to raise Afghan Mukhtarli's case with the Azerbaijani authorities, including any allegations of mistreatment in prison. We are aware of Mr Mukhtarli's request to attend the funerals of family members who died recently in tragic circumstances.