Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 January (HL345), in forming their assessment of the case of Hajer Mansoor, what consideration they have given to the findings of independent experts, in particular: (1) the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention published on 7 January 2019; (2) the open letter published in The Guardian on 11 April 2019, signed by 54 signatories including prominent MPs and QCs; (3) an assessment by Amnesty International published on 22 February 2019 declaring Bahraini political prisoner Hajer Mansoor’s imprisonment to be arbitrary and in reprisal for Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei’s human rights work; and (4) other relevant findings.

The British Government takes note of a number of sources of information on Bahrain when making our assessment; including publications and statements from non-governmental organisations. As I stated in my answer to PQ HL345, we have raised the case of Hajer Mansoor at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain. We have been given categorical assurance privately and Bahrain have stated publically that Hajer Mansoor’s charges and conviction are not related to the activities of Mr Al Wadaei and has given details on charges. We continue to monitor this case.