Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the rights of Falun Gong practitioners in Russia.

The Government champions freedom of religion or belief for all abroad and regularly condemns the Kremlin's dire domestic human rights record in international fora. On 31 July, the UK condemned the Russian authorities' repression of internal political opposition at the UN Security Council. On 4 August, the UK's Human Rights Ambassador reiterated our call for the Russian authorities to release all political prisoners. The Prime Minister, Chancellor and former Foreign Secretary all raised human rights recently with their Chinese counterparts. We continue to closely monitor the situation for Falun Gong practitioners and maintain a dialogue with non-governmental organisations and international partners on the issue.