Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent the use of the death penalty for protesters in Iran by (a) making representations to his Iranian counterpart and (b) raising the issue in multilateral fora.

The use of the death penalty against protestors standing up for their basic human rights is morally abhorrent. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. On 8 December, the Foreign Secretary released a statement condemning the regime's action and summoned Iran's most senior diplomat to demand that Iran must halt all executions and end the violence against its own people. On 9 December, we sanctioned 10 Iranian officials connected to Iran's judicial and prison systems, including 6 individuals linked to the Revolutionary Courts that have been responsible for prosecuting protestors with egregious sentences including the death penalty. The UK will continue to hold Iran to account for its brutal crackdown of protests and refusal to respect the basic human rights of its citizens.