Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have raised the arrest of Ebrahim Sharif on 12 November 2025 with the government of Bahrain; if so, on how many occasions they have raised that case; and who discussed the issue with that government.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government is aware of the case and conviction of Ebrahim Sharif. I refer the Noble Lord to the answers provided to questions HL13268 and HL13269 (published 19 January 2026) and HL12137 (published 2 December 2025).
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conviction of Ebrahim Sharif in Bahrain on 8 January.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government is aware of the case and conviction of Ebrahim Sharif. I refer the Noble Lord to the answers provided to questions HL13268 and HL13269 (published 19 January 2026) and HL12137 (published 2 December 2025).
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the charges imposed by the authorities in Bahrain against opposition activist Mr Ebrahim Sharif.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers provided to questions HL13124 on 12 January 2026 , HL8922 on 15 July 2025, and HL4957 on 25 February 2025.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the UN Committee Against Torture’s concluding observations on Bahrain, issued on 28 November 2024 (CAT/C/BHR/CO/4), and in particular of the Committee’s call for the release of human rights defenders allegedly detained and imprisoned in retaliation for their work, including Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Abduljalil al-Singace and Hassan Mushaima.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers provided to questions HL13124 on 12 January 2026 , HL8922 on 15 July 2025, and HL4957 on 25 February 2025.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of reports concerning the conditions of detention of Mr Ebrahim Sharif at Dry Dock Detention Centre in Bahrain, including allegations of poor prison conditions.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers provided to questions HL13124 on 12 January 2026 , HL8922 on 15 July 2025, and HL4957 on 25 February 2025.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UN Committee against Torture’s concluding observations on Bahrain issued on 28 November (CAT/C/BHR/CO/4); and what assessment they have made of the implications of those findings for any UK training or assistance provided to institutions in Bahrain.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain. We have noted the observations issued on 28 November, and we continue to encourage all countries to engage constructively with UN mechanisms.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior Ombudsman; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s National Institution for Human Rights; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s Special Investigations Unit; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.