Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of figures from Amnesty International which indicate that Saudi Arabia executed 184 people in 2019; and what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the increased use of the death penalty in that country.

We regularly make clear, using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels, that the British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, as a matter of principle. We note Amnesty International's report highlighting an increased number of executions in Saudi Arabia in 2019. As a Human Rights Priority Country, Saudi Arabia will be reviewed in the Annual Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2019 Human Rights and Democracy Report (to be published during 2020).

The former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa raised our concerns about the death penalty with Deputy Justice Minister HE Abdullah Al Sulaimi on 11 February. The Foreign Secretary also raised our human rights concerns with Saudi Arabia during his visit in March this year. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Saudi Arabia.