§ Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the well-being of(a) Mr. Jamil Bassam and (b) Mr. Ebrahim Khodabandeh, the Iranians with refugee status in the United Kingdom arrested in Syria and handed over to the Iranian authorities; what representations he has made to the (i) Syrian and (ii) Iranian authorities on this matter; where the men are being held; and when they were last visited by (A) relatives,(B) Foreign Office officials and (C) the Red Cross. [134121]
§ Mr. RammellJamil Bassam and Ebrahim Khodabandeh are not British nationals, so the UK has no legal right to offer consular assistance. After the two men were detained in Syria, our embassy in Damascus repeatedly asked the Syrian authorities for information, but the Syrian authorities did not respond to any of the embassy's four formal notes. Our embassy in Tehran has made it clear to the Iranian Government that we are taking a keen interest in the human rights of these two men. On 5 August Iranian authorities told our embassy that Mr. Bassam and Mr. Khodabandeh were well, that they continued to be held during investigations and that the Iranian judicial authorities had noted our call for due process. We are not aware of contact between the two men and their families. We have urged the Iranian Government on a number of occasions to allow a visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross. We are not aware that one has taken place.