Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that the Saudi blogger, Raif Badawi, may now face execution by beheading for his decision to renounce his religion.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised Badawi’s case with the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Naif when they met on 24 February 2015. The Deputy Crown Prince confirmed that Badawi’s case had been referred to the Saudi courts for further consideration. We will continue to monitor Mr Badawi’s case closely and await its outcome.

The UK has repeatedly made clear that it opposes the death penalty around the world because we believe it undermines human dignity and there is no evidence that it works as a deterrent. Ministers, our Ambassador, and the Embassy team in Riyadh frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, bilaterally and through the European Union.