The UK condemns the death sentence of prominent and fearless artist Toomaj Salehi. Iran's deliberate attempts to silence dissenting voices are clear for all to see. We call for Mr Salehi's immediate release, and the release of all those who are unjustly detained by the Iranian regime. Mr Salehi's sentence is yet more evidence of unacceptable restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran. Nine people associated with the "Woman Life Freedom" protests have been executed.

The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We condemn Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters and have sanctioned 94 Iranian individuals or entities for human rights violations since September 2022. We call on Iran to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government. They have been consistently clear in calling for his release and continue to press for urgent consular access, utilising a variety of mechanisms, including through public and private engagement.

The Foreign Secretary raised this case with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry on 22 February. As Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon raised this case with Foreign Minister Shoukry on 28 March and with the Egyptian Ambassador on 20 February. Both Lord Ahmad and the Foreign Secretary discussed Mr El-Fattah with FM Shoukry and President Sisi in December 2023. The Prime Minister also spoke to President Sisi about Mr El-Fattah on 1 December 2023.

Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government. They have been consistently clear in calling for his release and continue to press for urgent consular access, utilising a variety of mechanisms, including through public and private engagement.

The Foreign Secretary raised this case with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry on 22 February. As Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon raised this case with Foreign Minister Shoukry on 28 March and with the Egyptian Ambassador on 20 February. Both Lord Ahmad and the Foreign Secretary discussed Mr El-Fattah with FM Shoukry and President Sisi in December 2023. The Prime Minister also spoke to President Sisi about Mr El-Fattah on 1 December 2023.

Supporting the welfare of British nationals detained overseas is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and where there are concerns that an individual's needs are not being met, with their consent, we will raise this with the relevant authorities. Without consent, we are unable to provide comment on consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter.

Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government and have been consistently clear in calls for his release, while continuing to press the need for urgent consular access. The Foreign Secretary and Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon raised his case with President Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry on 21 December 2023. The Prime Minister also recently raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 1 December 2023.

HMG opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution, calling for Iran to establish a moratorium on executions. We condemn Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters and have sanctioned 94 Iranian individuals or entities for human rights violations since September 2022. We will continue to pressure Iran on its application of the death penalty.

The UK Government believes that freedom of expression is a universal human right and citizens must be allowed to freely discuss and debate issues, challenge their governments and make informed decisions in accordance with international human rights law. We encourage all states, including the United Arab Emirates' (UAE), to uphold international human rights obligations. We recommended in our response to the UAE Universal Periodic Review that the UAE authorities guarantee the rights of people in the UAE to express their views and assemble peacefully, in line with international human rights law now and in future. We expressed disappointment during the UN Human Rights Council in October 2023 that the UAE did not adopt our recommendation.  We are aware of the reports referenced, which emerged on 12 December as COP28 was concluding. FCDO Ministers have not met with their counterparts since the reports emerged.

We welcome the recent pause in fighting as an opportunity to get hostages out and will continue to get aid into Gaza on a sustained basis now that the truce has ended. We continue to press both at the UN and directly with Israel for unhindered humanitarian access and substantive, repeated humanitarian pauses that allow aid to enter and British nationals to leave. UK humanitarian funding will continue to support trusted partners provide humanitarian assistance and negotiate humanitarian access in Gaza. The UK will continue, in conjunction with our international partners, to advocate internationally on humanitarian priorities.

The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. However, the flow of aid into and through Gaza continues to be insufficient and we are urgently exploring all diplomatic options to increase this, including urging Israel to open other existing land border crossings such as Kerem Shalom. Since 9 October, at least 1,479 trucks have entered Gaza. Despite an increase in supplies entering Gaza since the pause began, the volume of incoming commodities is still insufficient to meet the extensive needs. The total number of trucks that entered Gaza between 26th and 29th November is unclear as many have continued to be processed during the evening hours. The UK continues to support humanitarian aid provision, with a total amount delivered via British aircraft of 74 tonnes. The Foreign Secretary also announced an additional £30million, trebling our existing aid budget for the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the year. The UK continues to call for pauses that focus on humanitarian aid delivery.

The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary engage regularly and closely with regional counterparts including Israel and Egypt on the humanitarian response. The UK urges Israel to increase land access through the Rafah crossing as well as open other crossing points, in particular Kerem Shalom, so that aid can reach the people who so desperately need it. Humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza needs to include food, water, medical supplies and fuel as a priority. The Prime Minister has also been very clear about the need for sustained humanitarian pauses, so humanitarian organisations can deliver aid safely at scale and civilians move freely. The UK Government has already announced £30 million in humanitarian funding, more than doubling our existing budget this financial year, and has sent more than 51 tonnes of aid as well as equipment specifically requested by the Egyptian Red Crescent to help the efficiency of the international aid response, including lifesaving items such as wound care packs and water filters.

Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government and have been consistently clear in our calls for his release, whilst continuing to press the need for urgent consular access. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 20 October. The former Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, most recently on 18 September. The Minister of State for Development and Africa, Rt. Hon Andrew Mitchell, has also raised the case with the Egyptian authorities, most recently on 15 November during his visit to Cairo. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, continues to raise his case with the Egyptian Ambassador and with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

As I [Minister Rutley] said in the House of Commons on 18 July, the UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to international humanitarian law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon continues to reiterate this position to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Israel's Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely. On 13 September, the Foreign Secretary met Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Ramallah where he acknowledged apprehensions over continued Israeli settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions in the West Bank.

The UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances in Iran. HMG weighs lobbying on individual cases extremely carefully because we recognise that the UK raising specific individuals by name can put them at greater risk.

In a flawed judicial system, even false accusations of "collaboration with hostile foreign governments" can lead to significantly worse outcomes. It is imperative that we do not take action which risks harm.

The UK initiated a joint statement at the Human Rights Council in July, signed by 54 countries, which condemned Iran's use of the death penalty. The Foreign Secretary has summoned Iran's Chargé d'Affaires twice to express our opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.

The UK has implemented nine rounds of human rights sanctions on Iran, including on those responsible for overseeing the death penalty. The most recent round was on 6 July.

A response to the email dated 23 May is in process and we aim to respond within 20 working days as per the Cabinet Office guidelines. The FCDO have no record of the emails dated 25 May and 7 June. Please can these be resent to FCDO.Correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk.

The UK Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and every country, including Iran. We raise our objections to executions of protesters at all appropriate opportunities, including with the Iranian Embassy in London and through our Ambassador in Tehran. On 19 May the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon condemned Iran's continued use of the death penalty to instil fear and suppress dissent. On 9 January and 8 December, the Foreign Secretary ordered the summoning of Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK, to protest Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters. We will continue to work closely with our international partners to ensure Iran is held to account on the world stage.

The UK Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstance and every country, especially Iran. We raise human rights at all appropriate opportunities, including with the Iranian Embassy in London and through our Ambassador in Tehran. We last raised our objections to the death penalty on 17 May. On 9 January and 8 December, the Foreign Secretary ordered the summoning of Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK, to protest Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters. We will continue to work closely with our international partners to ensure Iran is held to account on the world stage, including through the establishment of a UN Fact Finding Mission.

The Government takes International parental child abduction very seriously. When a child has been abducted, our consular staff provide empathetic consular support to those affected, including to signpost them to relevant partner organisations. Following the issues raised in the debate on 22 March, consular staff are exploring with stakeholders what more we may be able to do. We will then seek to follow up with interested members in due course.

It has long been the Government's view that Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is governed by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to which Israel is a state party. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and Lord Ahmad has a regular dialogue with Israeli counterparts on these issues. The Civil Administration is a key component of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which the UK engages regularly on issues relating to the occupation.

We condemn any incidence of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We welcome the efforts of Israeli authorities to address settler violence and urge them to thoroughly investigate every instance to bring those responsible to justice and end the culture of impunity. We have also stressed the importance of the Israel security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. The Foreign Secretary also made clear the UK's concerns regarding the escalation of violence in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories in phone calls with both Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen and Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Malki on 7 March.