Written question asked by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) on Monday, 11 October 2010.

Iran

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to Iran about the forced withdrawal of lawyers defending members of the Baha'i administrative body.

Answer: My honourable friend Alistair Burt met the Iranian Ambassador on 20 September to discuss a range of human rights concerns, including the plight of the Baha'is. The Minister made it clear that the UK remains extremely concerned by the sentencing of the seven Baha'i leaders to 20 years imprisonment, which we understand has now been reduced to 10 years. As my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary said in his statement of 11 August 2010, these sentences are unacceptable. Both the UK and international community deplore the unacceptable victimisation of the Baha'i faith by the Iranian state. We will continue to remind Iran of the international commitments it has freely signed up to. We will also urge the Iranian Government to cease its harassment of the Baha'i minority, and to respect the rights of other minority groups.

Secondary information