Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 15 November 2018 to Quesrion 188258, whether any steps have been taken on behalf of Bahraini female political prisoners Hajer Mansoor, Najah Yusuf and Medina Ali to ensure that the Bahraini authorities allow them to see their families without the physical barrier which was imposed in September 2018.

As the Honourable Lady will know from answers in this House and the other place, our Embassy in Bahrain and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continue to monitor the cases of Hajer Mansoor, Najah Ahmed Yusuf and Medina Ali.

We continue to encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the relevant human rights oversight bodies. We also continue to encourage these bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations into any such allegations. We understand that the National Institution for Human Rights and the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman are aware of these cases and have been in contact with the three individuals in question.