HC Deb 01 November 2000 vol 355 cc532-3W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Iran about human rights in that country. [134763]

Mr. Hain

We and our EU partners regularly press the Iranian authorities over our concerns about human rights issues in Iran. The Foreign Secretary raised human rights matters with his counterpart Dr. Kamal Kharrazi when they met in New York on 15 September, and also with the Iranian Ambassador to London on 4 October. I too discussed these issues with Ambassador Sarmadi on 19 October.

In addition, we regularly raise our concerns through our Ambassador in Tehran

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the situation of Jews in Iran. 134776]

Mr. Hain

The Jewish community in Iran is represented, as are other minorities, by a member in the Majles, and Judaism is among the religions recognised by the Constitution. Jewish Iranians are free to run businesses and enjoy their own culture, although the right to take public office is circumscribed.

However, we remain concerned at the sentencing of 10 Jews and two Muslims in the Shiraz trial. We have throughout the trial raised our concerns about the nature of the proceedings. We hope that the Iranian Judiciary will show clemency.