Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions he has had with international partners on the (a) release of Evan Gershkovich and (b) use of imprisonment as a bargaining tactic.

Evan Gershkovich's detention illustrates Russia's disregard for media freedom. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have called for his immediate release. As a US national, the US Government is providing Mr Gershkovich with consular support. The UK remains in close contact with the US and has raised his case at the OSCE on several occasions, most recently on 21 March. The UK condemns the use of detention for diplomatic leverage and, working with like-minded partners, we remain determined to deter and combat this practice.