The UK unequivocally condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Iran. We are appalled by reports of the regime's increased detentions of Baha'is, as well as expropriation of land and destruction of homes of the Baha'i community. On 20 December 2022, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), Fiona Bruce, expressed the UK's condemnation of Iran's imprisonment of Baha'i leaders. We raise FoRB and wider human rights issues with the regime at all appropriate opportunities, and we continue to work closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4033", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Rutley"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Macclesfield"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "David Rutley"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-06-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-06-27T16:14:40.463Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-06-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Iran: Baha'i Faith"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the arrest of four Baha'i leaders in Iran on 1 May 2023.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4779", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Taiwo Owatemi"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry North West"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Taiwo Owatemi"} ], "uin" : "190140"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1645181", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1645181/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK unequivocally condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Iran. We are appalled by reports of the regime's increased detentions of Baha'is, as well as expropriation of land and destruction of homes of the Baha'i community. We recognise the specific risks Baha'i individuals face in Iran, including false accusations of links to foreign governments. We therefore weigh our actions very carefully, noting that establishing a link to the UK could put people at further risk. We stand up for the Baha'i community and other oppressed minorities in Iran by raising these and wider human rights issues with the regime at all appropriate opportunities, and we work closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4033", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Rutley"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Macclesfield"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "David Rutley"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-06-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-06-22T12:44:32.67Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-06-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Shadi Shahidzadeh"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Iranian authorities on the loss of contact between Shadi Shahidzadeh and her family since her arrest.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4779", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Taiwo Owatemi"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry North West"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Taiwo Owatemi"} ], "uin" : "189925"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1610114", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1610114/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
As The Foreign Secretary said in his statement on 7 April, the UK condemns Israeli police violence at the Al Aqsa Mosque. When Israeli security forces conduct operations, they must ensure they are proportionate and in accordance with international law. The UK is a strong supporter of freedom of religion or belief and calls for places of worship to be respected. We continue to value Jordan's important role as custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem. As the subsequent rocket fire from Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza shows, incidents such as those at Al Aqsa can be the trigger for a cycle of violence.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4033", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Rutley"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Macclesfield"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "David Rutley"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-04-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-04-19T12:02:21.373Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-04-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "al-Aqsa Mosque"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the consequences for his policies of the recent raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4779", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Taiwo Owatemi"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry North West"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Taiwo Owatemi"} ], "uin" : "180247"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }