Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Sudan about policies involving the death sentence for women who change their religion.

Baroness Warsi

I am appalled at the death sentence given to Meriam Ibrahim, and her continued imprisonment. Immediately following her trial, the Minister for Africa, my Hon. Friend, the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), issued a statement describing her conviction as barbaric and calling upon the Government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion and international human rights laws as enshrined in its own constitution. The Chargé d’Affaires of the Sudanese Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 19 May at the request of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague). The Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, my Hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms Featherstone), reiterated our demand with the Sudanese Foreign Minister when she met him on 20 May. Our Embassy in Khartoum attended Meriam Ibrahim’s trial, continues to press the Sudanese authorities for her release and is in close contact with her defence team.

The UK opposes the death sentence in all circumstances. We are calling on the Sudanese government to undertake a comprehensive review of its penal code to ensure its laws reflect both its constitution and international human rights obligations, and the values and compassion of the Sudanese people.