Bahrain: Freedom of Expression

(asked on 21st February 2018) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of freedom of speech in Bahrain following the sentencing of the human rights activist Nabeel Rajab to five years in prison on 21 February 2018.


Answered by
Alistair Burt Portrait
Alistair Burt
This question was answered on 1st March 2018

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our Embassy in Bahrain continue to monitor the case of Nabeel Rajab and have raised this with the Bahraini Government at the highest levels.

In my public statement of 21 February I expressed my concerns at the further five year sentence handed to Mr Rajab and re-emphasised the UK's encouragement to Bahrain to protect freedom of expression for all of its citizens in line with its international obligations.

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