§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs further to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) of 11 April 2000,Official Report, column 178, what steps the Government plan to take to monitor the trial and other legal proceedings in respect of the 13 members of the Jewish community from Shiraz; and if he will make a statement. [118986]
§ Mr. HainSince my answer to the House on 11 April we are concerned at reports that trial Judge has decided to hold the trial in camera, and have made our concerns known to the Iranian authorities. The pattern of developments is not entirely clear, but our Embassy is following events closely. We note that defendants have now had the opportunity to appoint their own counsel, and that all those detained have done so.
The first session of the trial took place on 13 April. We understand that the trial has been adjourned until 1 May at the request of the defence lawyers to allow them to prepare their defence. We and our EU partners will 397W continue to monitor events carefully. We will be paying especially close attention to defence counsel's view of proceedings.