§ Sir Bernard Braineasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals are known to have been imprisoned in the USSR in the past five years; and if he is satisfied that his statistics are complete in the light of the information sent to him by the hon. Member for Essex, South East.
§ Mr. LuardSeven United Kingdom citizens have been imprisoned in the Soviet Union in the past five years. Two were released in 1975 and 1978. The remaining five prisoners are currently serving sentences for drug offences in Lipli in the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics. They are allowed regular consular visits and are brought to Moscow for this purpose. As far as my right hon. Friend is aware no other United Kingdom citizens are detained in the Soviet Union.