Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the number of drug traffickers who have been sentenced to death in (a) Iran and (b) Pakistan following conviction resulting from counter-narcotics activities supported by the UK in those countries.

Karen Bradley

The Government provides counter-narcotics assistance to a range of international partners, including Pakistan. The Government does not provide counter-narcotics assistance to Iran. There is no evidence to suggest that any drug traffickers have been sentenced to death in Pakistan where the conviction has resulted from counter-narcotics activities supported by the UK government.

All our work is the subject of comprehensive and ongoing assessments of human rights risks, in line with Overseas Security & Justice Assistance (OSJA) guidance. This helps ensure that counter-narcotics assistance provided to countries which retain the death penalty is congruent with UK human rights principles. The Government strongly opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. UK Ministers have and will continue to urge countries, including Iran and Pakistan, to repeal the death penalty and take action to ensure human rights are safeguarded.