Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about reports that Mohammed Al Fara is at risk of execution.

The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. This is especially the case for juveniles and for crimes other than the most serious. This is in line with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. We reiterated our opposition to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia in a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September.

In August, our Chargé d'affaires in Riyadh raised the issue of the death penalty with Minister of State Al Jubeir, including Mohammad al-Faraj's case. We will continue to monitor and raise concerns about the case of al-Faraj.

We regularly raise our concerns about the use of the death penalty with the Saudi Arabian authorities. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa raised the death penalty with Dr Awwad al Awwad, President of Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Commission during his virtual visit in July. I raised the death penalty in a call with Dr Awwad in June and raised a range of human rights concerns during my visit last September. The Foreign Secretary raised human rights during his visit in March this year.