Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Sudan about reports of (1) the beating with an electric rod, during an interrogation in January, of Amal Habani, the co-ordinator of the No Oppression Against Women Initiative in Sudan, and (2) the arrests of human rights activist, Nahid Jabrallah, and Mohamed Aldouma, the president of the Darfur Bar Association.

We are aware of allegations made about the treatment of Amal Habani during her arrest, and of the arrests of Nahid Jabrallah and Mohamed Aldouma. The British Government has continually raised the issue of the arbitrary arrest of political leaders and activists and the treatment of those detained following the recent protests in Sudan, and most recently did so at a senior level in a bilateral meeting on 7 February, and publicly through a public statement by EU ambassadors resident in Sudan on 30 January.

We continue to call on the Government of Sudan to release all these detainees as soon as possible, and continue to make clear our expectation that all detainees will be treated in accordance with international standards. More widely, we urge the Government of Sudan to implement the recommendations of the National Dialogue that relate to limiting the powers of the National Intelligence and Security Service to arrest and detain individuals.