Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to help the government of Israel to secure the swift return of (a) British and (b) other Israelis taken captive by Hamas.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
My [Minister Rutley] thoughts are with those families who are facing unimaginable uncertainty and fear because of these despicable attacks and kidnappings. This is a fast-moving situation, and we are not commenting on individual consular cases. The safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority. We are using all the tools available to us in our diplomatic toolkit to maximise our chances of bringing innocent British nationals back home to their loved ones. The Foreign Secretary is working with his Israeli counterparts along with international partners to establish a safe passage for British nationals out of Gaza.
British Nationals in need of help should contact +972 (0)3 725 1222 or +972 (2) 5414100. If they experience technical difficulties or if they are in the UK, call +44 20 7008 5000. British nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, are advised to register their presence with the FCDO.
[https://www.register.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/israel-20231009/tell-the-uk-government-youre-in-israel-or-the-occupied-palestinian-territories]
[https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/israel]
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to establish a UK equivalent of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have responded to the Foreign Affairs Committee regarding their recent inquiry related to this question and expect them to publish our response shortly.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Stewart of Dirleton on 25 April (HL6969), how many requests to prosecute cases of international crimes were received by the Attorney General in the last five years; and how many of those were granted.
Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton - Advocate General for Scotland
The Attorney General’s consent is required for the prosecution in England and Wales of several international crimes. These include: grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, contrary to the Geneva Conventions Act 1957; genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, contrary to the International Criminal Court Act 2001; torture, contrary to the Criminal Justice Act 1988; and hostage-taking, contrary to the Taking of Hostages Act 1982. In the last five years, in relation to the above international crimes, the Attorney General’s Office has received one application for consent to prosecute. Consent was not granted. |
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the US Administration and (b) EU counterparts on the imposition of sanctions on (i) Ali Ghanaatkar, (ii) Ali Rezvani and (iii) Amened Sadat Zahbipour for their role in Iran’s state hostage-taking; and if he will impose sanctions on those individuals.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will never accept our nationals being used as political leverage. Working with our international partners, including the USA and European Union, we continue to press Iran to end this abhorrent practice. In December 2022, the UK sanctioned ten officials connected to Iran's judicial and prison systems. This includes six individuals linked to the Revolutionary Courts which have been responsible for egregious sentences on British nationals. In January, we sanctioned Iran's Prosecutor General and deputy Prosecutor General, two of the most powerful figures in Iran's judiciary and responsible for the trial process and sentencing. The UK sanctions over 300 Iranian individuals and entities, including in relation to human rights violations, counter-proliferation, regional activity and terrorism. This includes 60 new human rights designations since October 2022. We do not speculate on future designations as doing so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for Iran’s state hostage-taking.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will never accept our nationals being used as political leverage. Working with our international partners, including the USA and European Union, we continue to press Iran to end this abhorrent practice. In December 2022, the UK sanctioned ten officials connected to Iran's judicial and prison systems. This includes six individuals linked to the Revolutionary Courts which have been responsible for egregious sentences on British nationals. In January, we sanctioned Iran's Prosecutor General and deputy Prosecutor General, two of the most powerful figures in Iran's judiciary and responsible for the trial process and sentencing. The UK sanctions over 300 Iranian individuals and entities, including in relation to human rights violations, counter-proliferation, regional activity and terrorism. This includes 60 new human rights designations since October 2022. We do not speculate on future designations as doing so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will follow the steps taken by Canada and impose further sanctions on Iranians involved in the perpetration of torture and State hostage-taking of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK has over 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran in relation to human rights, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. On 10 October, the UK used the dedicated Iran Human Rights sanctions regime to designate the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. This brings the total to 85 individuals and two entities sanctioned under that regime. A full list is available on the UK Sanctions List https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list#full-publication-update-history
It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the UK is taking internationally to challenge Iran's state hostage taking against UK and dual nationals.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK does not, and never will, accept our nationals being used as diplomatic leverage. It is vital that the international community take a firm stand against this abhorrent practice, wherever it arises. Under the UK Presidency of the G7 in 2021, leaders made opposing arbitrary detention a key priority for international action, including amplifying the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations. The UK was among the first countries to endorse this declaration, an initiative led by Canada. We continue to work with likeminded partners around the world to challenge Iran's practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has in place for victims of hostage-taking; and whether she plans to develop safeguarding guidance for public authorities and staff.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Home Office takes the risk of hostage taking very rather seriously.
Depending on the circumstances, our operational partners have the capability and would respond to the immediate crises. We then have clear policies to support victims of crime and vulnerable people, depending on specific needs.
In response to any terrorist attack, the Victims of Terrorism Unit (VTU) co-ordinates effective and comprehensive support to victims of terrorism. The VTU define a victim of terrorism as anyone who feels impacted, either physically or mentally, by a terrorist attack, including bereaved family and friends, witnesses and first responders.
Victims of Terrorism are provided with practical and emotional support from specialist service providers, enabling them to cope with the immediate impact of a terrorist attack and to recover from the longer-term consequences.
The VTU has developed a Local Authority (LA) Toolkit, to help LAs to support victims of terrorism. In the aftermath of an attack, the VTU will work with the area affected to ensure that victims receive the support they need.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has in place for victims of hostage taking; and whether she plans to develop safeguarding guidance for public authorities and staff.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that any hostage release deal as part of the Vienna talks includes the release of all British nationals held in Iran including Anoosheh Ashoori.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
It is unhelpful to connect the release of detainees to wider issues. We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of unfairly detained British nationals in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashoori.