§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of terrorist organisations based in Yemen. [19131]
§ Mr. BradshawI cannot comment on intelligence material. The Yemeni Government have acknowledged that the Islamic Army of Aden (IAA) is based in Yemen. The IAA is a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000.
§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Yemen concerning the(a) international coalition against terrorism and (b) policy of the Government of Yemen towards terrorist organisations. [19128]
§ Mr. BradshawI met the President's envoy, Dr. Iriyani, when he visited London in October. We discussed the international coalition against terrorism and the Yemeni Government's view towards terrorism.I welcomed the Yemeni Government's swift and strong condemnation of the attacks in the USA. Dr. Iriyani said that Yemen would do all it could in the fight against terrorism.
§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 a Minister in his Department visited Yemen; when these visits took place; where was visited; and what discussions took place during these visits. [19129]
§ Mr. BradshawThe then Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz), visited Sana' a in October 2000 and met President Saleh and Prime Minister Iriyani. They discussed bilateral issues, including counter-terrorism co-operation, consular matters, trade and developmental assistance and also regional issues.
§ Mr. Alan DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are held in prisons in Yemen; on what date they were imprisoned; and, in each case, what the duration of the sentence handed down to them was. [19130]
§ Mr. BradshawThere are currently five Britons imprisoned in Yemen. They were imprisoned between 28 December 1998 and 27 January 1999. One is serving three years, two are serving five years, and two are serving seven years.