Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws on 2016-04-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of freedom of expression in Bangladesh, including the threats of criminal defamation against individual journalists and editors, and whether they will raise any specific concerns with the government of Bangladesh.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We believe that a vibrant civil society and free media, able to challenge and hold authority to account, are fundamental to a democratic and economically successful society. We have made clear our concerns about freedom of expression in Bangladesh, most recently in a press statement about the murder of Nazimuddin Samad. In that statement the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), restated our position that the right to freedom of expression and open debate in Bangladesh must be upheld.