Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about bringing those responsible for the extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances of Iranians in 1988 to justice in fair proceedings without recourse to the death penalty, as recommended by Amnesty International and Justice for Iran in their report Criminal Cover-up: Iran destroying mass graves of victims of 1988 killings.

The British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and takes any allegations of extrajudicial killings seriously. When a new Special Rapporteur is appointed, we will call on Iran to grant them access so they can investigate human rights concerns reported there, including the 1988 executions and the recent destruction of mass graves. We also raise our human rights concerns directly with the Iranian Government; the Foreign Secretary did so with his Iranian counterpart during his visit to Tehran in December and the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa discussed human rights concerns with his Iranian counterpart in London in February. While at present we have no plans to request an inquiry by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into the 1988 executions of political prisoners in Iran or the recent destruction of mass graves, we continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran, including ending the death penalty and by supporting the work done by the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran.