Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Answer of 11 September 2023 to Question 196343 on Abbas Deris, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterparts on the imprisonment of Abbas Deris.

HMG opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution, calling for Iran to establish a moratorium on executions. We condemn Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters and have sanctioned 94 Iranian individuals or entities for human rights violations since September 2022. We will continue to pressure Iran on its application of the death penalty.