Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Saudi Arabian authorities to (a) release female human rights defenders detained in since May 2018 and (b) bring to justice those suspected of their torture.

The British Government is very concerned about the reports that women's rights activists have been subject to torture during pre-trial detention in Saudi Arabia. We consistently and unreservedly condemn torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and it is a priority for us to combat this wherever and whenever it occurs. We have raised concerns about these cases at Ministerial level a number of times with the Saudi authorities.