Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Myanmar regarding the six-year prison sentence imposed on the former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention, Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, on 7 April; and what steps they have taken in response to the sentence.

The UK condemns the arbitrary detention of politicians, civil society members and journalists by the military regime, including the former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson. On 18 April, the UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief called for his immediate release and for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar. On 21 December 2022 the UK coordinated a landmark UN Security Council Resolution which urged immediate action by the military regime to release all those in arbitrary detention.