The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the government of Iran about the events in Evin Prison on 17 April; and, if so, when.

Baroness Warsi

The Government was disturbed by reports of physical violence against political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April 2014. We have been concerned about prison conditions in Iran for some time and set out our views formally in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2014 Human Rights report. The UK has been a strong supporter of the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Dr Shaheed, and successfully lobbied for the extension of his mandate in 2014.

In March, Dr Shaheed reported that conditions for prison inmates range from poor to inhumane, access to medical services is often limited, and hygiene and nutrition are poor. The UK works closely with international human rights bodies and partners to encourage Iran to engage seriously on human rights issues. The UK’s non-resident Charge d’Affaires also raised human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran in March.