Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in Sudan on the recent arrest of teachers in that country.

We strongly condemn the actions of the Sudanese military on 25 October, including the continued detention of Prime Minister Hamdok and members of the civilian government, as well as the unilateral appointment of a new Sovereign Council on 11 November. I condemned the military's actions in the strongest terms in the House of Commons on 25 October and called for Sudanese people be able to meet to protest without fear of violence, a message I have since publicly reiterated. The Foreign Secretary made a statement on 5 November calling for the release of all those unlawfully detained and restoration of the civilian-led transitional government. We also reiterated that all detainees should be released as part of condemnation of the coup at UN Security Council meetings on 26 October and 11 November and at the UN Human Rights Council on 5 November.

We are deeply concerned by recent reports of many teachers being arrested by the Sudanese military whilst protesting against the military coup. On 9 November Troika (UK, Norway and US) Ambassadors met with General Burhan, where they pressed him to release all detainees and urged the military to reverse their actions. With our international partners we continue to maintain public international pressure on the military to return to the democratic transition in order to deliver the freedom, peace and justice called for by the Sudanese people.