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 provide consular support to Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson during his imprisonment in Myanmar; and whether he has made representations to the authorities in Myanmar on this case.

The UK condemns the arbitrary detention of politicians, civil society members and journalists by the military regime, including the former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson. On 18 April, the UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief called for his immediate release and for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar. Although the UK has had no political engagement with the military regime since the coup in February 2021, we will continue to call publicly for the military regime to release all those arbitrarily detained. British Embassy Yangon is monitoring the case closely. The FCDO provides consular assistance to British nationals overseas, we do not provide assistance to foreign nationals outside the UK.