Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the letter of 23 June 2020 to him, from 10 hon. Members on securing the release of human rights activists (a) Loujain AlHathloul in Saudi Arabia, (b) Ahmed Mansoor in the UAE and (c) Dr Abduljalil AlSingace in Bahrain, what (i) public and (ii) private representations he has made to his (A) Saudia Arabian, (B) Emirati and (C) Bahraini counterpart on securing the release of (1) those people and (2) other people imprisoned for peacefully opposing their governments.

We have raised the cases of Loujain al-Hathloul, Ahmed Mansoor and Abduljalil al-Singace at senior levels with the Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini authorities respectively. The UK urges all countries to comply with their human rights obligations. Our close relationship with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain allows us to discuss important issues such as human rights.

We consistently underline the importance of political freedoms globally. This includes respect for the right to peaceful protest, the rule of law, and freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. We continue to raise concerns about individual cases regularly. Where the UK has cause for concern, we raise these concerns at official and Ministerial level.