Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to seek lifting the travel ban on Samar Badawi, the wife of Saudi activist Waleed Abulkhair.

We maintain a regular dialogue with the Saudi authorities on a range of human rights issues. While our Embassy officials in Riyadh have had some contact with human rights defenders, it is often the view of defenders that involvement with foreign representatives and organisations can make their work harder.