Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with his Ethiopian counterpart on the release of opposition leaders in detention in that country.

I have a long-standing concern about the deterioration of political freedoms in Ethiopia, and I raised this when in Ethiopia last summer. The Foreign Secretary also raised the importance of respect for human rights, including political freedoms and the importance of credible elections in maintaining peace and stability, when he met with Prime Minister Abiy during his visit to Ethiopia on 22 January this year.

Most recently, I raised the elections delay with President Sahle-Work during the 17 May Sudan Conference in Paris. On 14 April, the British Ambassador met, alongside Ambassadors and representatives from other Embassies in Addis Ababa, the Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General and pressed concerns about the narrow political and civic space and arrests of candidates.