Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps in addition to his discussions with his Iranian counterpart his Department is taking to encourage the cessation of capital punishment in Iran.

The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. We raise this issue with Iran at all levels. In addition, we successfully lobbied to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and actively support the launch of an EU/Iran Human Rights dialogue.