Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Thursday, 30 October 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 6 November 2003. It was answered by Chris Mullin (Labour) on Thursday, 6 November 2003 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Sudan on the (a) death penalty and (b) use of torture.

Answer: Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Sudan on the (a) death penalty and (b) use of torture. [136092] Mr. Mullin: Human rights in Sudan remains one of our priorities. We monitor the situation closely. Our embassy in Khartoum regularly lobbies the Government of Sudan on human rights, and pays particular attention to cases involving the death penalty, corporal punishments and allegations of torture. The embassy continues to raise these issues both bilaterally and multilaterally as part of the recent EU Sudan dialogue. The last meeting of the EU Sudan dialogue was on 2 November 2003 which, among other issues, focused on press freedom and the application of "hudud" (amputations) punishments.

Secondary information