Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Ethiopia concerning the detention of Andargachew Tsige, a British national, further to those made by the Foreign Secretary in a call to his Ethiopian counterpart, Dr Tedros, and what reassurance have they obtained about (1) his treatment whilst in prison, (2) his access to independent legal advice, (3) his access to regular consular assistance, and (4) his death sentence not being carried out.

The UK Government takes Mr Tsege's case seriously. The Ethiopian Government are in no doubt as to our concerns for Mr Tsege and the priority we place upon his wellbeing. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has raised the case each time he has spoken to his Ethiopian counterparts and the Ambassador raises it regularly at the highest levels in Ethiopia, most recently after her visit to Mr Tsege in prison on 11 November. From her discussions with Mr Tsege she was reassured of his welfare and was also able to give Mr Tsege a list of local lawyers. This is an important step toward Mr Tsege having access to legal advice to discuss his options under Ethiopian law. He must now be allowed to contact them without obstruction. We will continue to press the Ethiopians to abide by this commitment. The recent visit to Mr Tsege was the 12th visit to him by UK Government officials. We will also continue to press the Ethiopians to ensure that they abide by their commitment to ensure regular consular access to Mr Tsege. The Government opposes the use of the death penalty under all circumstances. We have made our stance on the death penalty very clear to the Ethiopian authorities.