Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reported arrests of the relatives of political prisoners, Mohammed Ramadhan and Mohammed AlDaqqaq, following peaceful protests in Bahrain, what assessment he has made of reports of the criminalisation and targeting of the relatives of political prisoners who exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly in that country.

We have consistently underlined, across the region, the importance of respect for the right to peaceful protest, and freedom of speech. The UK supports freedom of expression and freedom of speech as both a fundamental right in itself, and as an essential element of a full range of human rights. Bahrain remains a human rights priority country partly due to our concerns around restrictions on these freedoms.