Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of press freedom and freedom of expression in Bangladesh, following reports of enforced disappearances of journalists and supporters of opposition parties in Bangladesh.

​I raised concerns about disappearances and freedom of expression during my meetings with senior government leaders in Dhaka in August, and the Minister for Asia and the Pacific did the same with the Bangladesh High Commissioner and Foreign Secretary Haque in November. The High Commission in Dhaka regularly raises the full range of our human rights concerns with the Government of Bangladesh.

I am deeply concerned by the growing number of attacks against freedom of expression in Bangladesh, including those that have allegedly taken place through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and extra-judicial killings. Bangladesh remains a human rights priority country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.