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 implications for his policies of reports that Nicaraguan courts have removed the citizenship of almost 100 critics of the Ortega regime.

While we welcome the release of 222 prisoners in February from Nicaraguan jails, the decision to expel these individuals from Nicaragua and to strip them of their Nicaraguan nationality is a further step by the Nicaraguan Government to silence critics of the ongoing deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua. We continue to call for the release of all other political prisoners in Nicaragua and will continue to also consider how, with partners, we maintain pressure on the regime and urge it to comply with international human rights law and respect human rights.