Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department is making to the Bahraini Government on the (a) treatment of peaceful protest and assembly in that country and (b) risk that its application of alternative sentencing is discriminatory.

Bahrain is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office human rights priority country. We continue to monitor and encourage the government of Bahrain's delivery on its international and domestic human rights commitments.

We have consistently underlined, across the region, the importance of respect for the right to peaceful protest, freedom of speech freedom of assembly and the rule of law.

With UK support, Bahrain has successfully implemented new legislation allowing for alternatives to detention for some offences. Over 2,900 people have already benefitted from the introduction of these changes. We recognise this as a positive move to reform the judicial system. We continue to encourage Bahrain to monitor the impact of alternative sentencing, for example on re-offending rates, and to support its use in a forward looking way that fosters continuous evaluation and improvement.