PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Egypt (25 June 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he plans to make to his Egyptian counterparts on the seven year jail terms handed down to three Al-Jazeera journalists; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by:
Ms Diane Abbott (Labour)

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) made a statement on 23 June expressing his concerns and urging the Egyptian Government to demonstrate its commitment to freedom of expression by reviewing this case as a matter of urgency. The Egyptian Ambassador Ashraf el-Kholy was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 23 June. FCO Political Director, Simon Gass told the Egyptian Ambassador that the British Government was deeply concerned by the verdicts, and with the procedural shortcomings of the trials. The British Ambassador to Egypt also raised this issue in Cairo with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24 June. We will continue to raise this case with the Egyptian authorities.

Answered by:
Sir Hugh Robertson (Conservative)
30 June 2014