Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain about the treatment of the democracy movement in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I held discussions on Bahrain’s recent elections at the UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group on 4 December with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) held similar discussions with the King and Crown Prince of Bahrain during his visit there on 6 December. In both meetings we commended the election of a broad range of candidates, although the opposition political societies decided not to take part. I will continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to build on the success of the elections and move forward with further reform to advance the democratisation and human rights agenda.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on the release of political prisoners.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We encourage the Government of Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. If we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our wider dialogue on human rights and reform.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on the release of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our Embassy in Bahrain raised the case of Dr Abduljalil Al Singace, along with a number of other cases, with the Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior in May. Our Ambassador to Bahrain has also raised our broader concerns around detainee rights and prison conditions with HM the King, HRH the Crown Prince and the Minister of Interior.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with human rights groups on the decision to allow Prince Nasser bin Hamad access to the UK.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I have not held any discussions with human rights groups regarding Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. In October, the Crown Prosecution Service could not sustain its finding that Sheikh Nasser had been immune from prosecution when he visited the UK in 2012. Regardless of this finding on immunity, the police had in any event concluded that there was insufficient evidence to take any further action. Sheikh Nasser has since visited the UK. Bahrain remains a close partner of the UK, and Sheikh Nasser continues to be welcome here.