The UK is deeply concerned by the dismissal of an appeal against the decision of Russia's Supreme Court to categorise the Jehovah's Witnesses as extremists. This ruling effectively criminalises the peaceful worship of some 175,000 Russian citizens and is at odds with the right to religious freedom which is enshrined in the Russian Constitution.<\/p>
I issued a statement on 18 July expressing our concerns. We have raised this issue with the Russian Government and continue to call on them to uphold their commitment to this basic freedom in international fora, including in the Council of Europe.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-07-19T15:57:06.487Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-07-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to ban the Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that the group is considered to be an extremist organisation.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4266", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Coventry"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "The Lord Bishop of Coventry"} ], "uin" : "HL427"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/747975", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/747975/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is concerned about the situation faced by the Bahá'ís in Yemen. This is particularly the case in areas under the control of the Houthis and forces loyal to ex-president Saleh, where they have faced persecution due to their religious beliefs. The UK has raised the issue with the Government of Yemen and highlighted their plight through public diplomacy. Mr Burt, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, also met with representatives of the Bahá'í community on 13 July.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-07-19T15:56:43.543Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-07-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the situation facing Bahá'ís and other religious minorities in Yemen.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4266", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Coventry"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "The Lord Bishop of Coventry"} ], "uin" : "HL429"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }