Iran: Hostage Taking

(asked on 19th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to counter the practice of hostage-taking by the government of Iran; and what assessment they have made of the value of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, launched in February, in taking such steps.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 3rd December 2021

We do not accept any of our dual nationals being used as diplomatic leverage. We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of unfairly detained British nationals in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori. The Foreign Secretary discussed their cases with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on 8 November. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Bagheri Kani visited the FCDO on 11 November to meet senior government officials and Minister Cleverly, who raised all our cases with his Iranian counterpart.

As part of the Canadian Initiative Against Arbitrary Detention, we are committed to enhancing international cooperation to stop any State from arbitrarily detaining foreign nationals for coercive purposes. We are working with our G7 partners to enhance mechanisms to uphold international law, tackle human rights abuses and stand up for our shared values.

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