Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Bangladeshi counterpart on the imprisonment of the leader of the main opposition party in that country.

While it would not be appropriate for the UK to interfere in the judicial processes of another country, I remain concerned by the imprisonment of Khaleda Zia, the main opposition leader in Bangladesh. It impedes an effective dialogue between the main parties and could increase the risk of violence around the election and have a negative impact on participation. The Foreign Secretary met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Ali during his visit to Bangladesh from 9 to 10 February. He stressed the importance of free and fair elections and affording political space to the opposition. I did the same when I met Foreign Minister Ali on 19 April in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018.