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 Department's policies of reports of the arrest of four peaceful protesters in Bahrain; and what representations he plans to make to his Bahraini counterparts on (a) the treatment of those protestors and (b) freedom of protest.

The FCDO is aware of the arrest on 5 March and the release the same day of four people protesting near the Bahrain Grand Prix. We continue to follow matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely, including some individual cases. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad raised a range of human rights issues during his visit to Bahrain on Sunday 12 February. We encourage those with concerns to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini oversight body.