Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any information regarding the health of the women detained by the government of Sudan following the protests which began on 7 January; and if not, whether they will request this information in order to assess any violations of human rights which could affect the lifting of sanctions.

UK Embassy officials are raising our concerns with the Government of Sudan about those detained following recent protests, including at a bilateral meeting on 21 January and through a public statement by EU ambassadors in Sudan on 30 January. While no official statistics are available, we estimate that the detained include around 25 women. We have no information on their health, but are calling on the Government to release all those detained as soon as possible and to ensure that they are not mistreated.

We consider that women's prisons in Sudan do not meet international standards, but we have seen no evidence of systemic mistreatment among the general prison population. There is considerable evidence that facilities operated by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) do routinely mistreat detainees. However, we understand that none of the women detained following recent protests are being held in NISS facilities. To reduce mistreatment, we strongly urge the Government of Sudan to implement the recommendations of the National Dialogue on the powers of the security services to arrest and detain individuals.