Written question asked by Lord Austin of Dudley (Labour) on Wednesday, 27 April 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 May 2016. It was answered by David Lidington (Conservative) on Monday, 9 May 2016 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Russia: Human Rights

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to impose financial sanctions on Russian individuals complicit in human rights abuses.

Answer: EU sanctions have been imposed on Russia for its illegal annexation of Crimea and ongoing aggression and destabilisation of eastern Ukraine. The UK Government supports human rights defenders and holds the Russian Government to account, publicly and privately, when it fails to fulfil its international commitments to promote and protect human rights. For these reasons Russia also featured as a Priority Country in the annual FCO Human Rights Report released in April 2016. I also raised human rights issues with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Titov on my last visit to Moscow in December 2015.

Secondary information