Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that eight Sudanese men have been sentenced to jail for terms of between six months and five years for protesting against President Omar al-Bashir.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the Government of Sudan's response to recent protests, including the implementation of a state of emergency and the issuing of emergency orders to criminalise peaceful and legitimate demonstrations. Our Ambassador in Khartoum recently raised the cases of individuals detained in relation to protests with senior officials in the Government of Sudan. This included expressing outrage at the case of nine women sentenced to flogging and a call for their immediate release; we are pleased that these sentences have now been overturned. The UK continues to call publicly for the immediate release of those detained and for the Government to respect the rights of the Sudanese people, including their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The Minister for Africa most recently raised our concerns at the situation with the Foreign Minister of Sudan on 13 March.