Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterparts in Iran on Abbas Deris.

Whilst we welcome recent reports that Iran's high court has suspended Mr Deris' execution while it reviews his appeal, we are aware this could be reversed. Since October 2022, the UK has imposed more than 80 new sanctions in response to human rights violations by Iran, including those involved in unfair trials and the imposition of the death penalty. We raise Iran's use of the death penalty regularly in London and through our Ambassador in Tehran. On 5 July we initiated a joint-statement against the death penalty in Iran, co-signed by 54 countries. On the same day, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon also issued a statement reiterating calls for a moratorium on executions.