Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Ministers of his Department have seen the Amnesty International statement of 22 May 2019 entitled, Oman: Life Sentence for Prisoner of Conscious on the imprisonment of Mohammed Abdullah al-Shahi.

Officials in London met a UK-based Non-Governmental Organisation to listen to their concerns about the Shihuh and Oman on 15 July. I have also raised this issue with the Omani authorities, as has our Ambassador in Muscat. We are aware that human rights authorities in Oman have responded directly to Amnesty International with a detailed reply regarding one of their reports. Omani authorities have given us the strongest assurances that the individuals concerned were given full legal assistance and treated in accordance with Oman’s constitution and international laws and conventions. There is no evidence of discrimination against the Shihuh more generally, many of whom occupy senior positions in the Omani state and wider society. We continue to monitor developments closely.