Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help political prisoners held by the Russian Government.

We continue to attend the trials of human rights defenders and opposition voices in Russia, most recently the court hearings regarding dual British-Russian national Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years on 17 April. His Majesty's Ambassador Moscow has reiterated calls for consular access with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we will continue to press for medical treatment and his release. We have also sanctioned those responsible for the mistreatment of political prisoners. We are taking a leading role in multilateral fora such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the UN Human Rights Council to raise the issue of political prisoners' plight.