Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Sudanese counterpart on the case of Meriam Ibrahim and the persecution of Christians in that country.

Mr William Hague

I am appalled at the death sentence given to Meriam Ibrahim, and her continued imprisonment. At my request, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Sudanese Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign Office on 19 May. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms Featherstone), also raised our deep concerns with the Sudanese Foreign Minister when she met him on 20 May. Our Embassy in Khartoum continues to press the Sudanese authorities for Meriam Ibrahim’s release, and is in close contact with her legal team.

Along with our international partners, we regularly raise the persecution of Christians and other minorities with the Sudanese government. We have called on it to respect the right to freedom of religion and international human rights laws as enshrined in its own constitution.