Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Bahrain on the 8 October 2019 letter of political prisoner Ali AlHajee raising allegations of religious discrimination in Bahraini prisons during the holy month of Muharram.

The Foreign and Commonwealth office continues to monitor events in Bahrain closely. We are aware of the case of Ali Al Hajee, including allegations of mistreatment in detention, and have raised the case at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain.

We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to raise them with the appropriate Bahraini human rights oversight body. We continue to encourage the oversight bodies in Bahrain to carry out thorough and swift investigations into any such claims.