Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL1042):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool::
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens are (1) facing charges, or (2) are imprisoned under (a) the National Security Law in Hong Kong, (b) Hong Kong’s Public Order Ordinance, and (c) Hong Kong’s Crimes Ordinance; and what assessment they have made of reports that at least four British citizens are being mistreated or tortured in detention in Hong Kong. (HL1042)
Tabled on: 14 June 2021
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
We do not comment on individual cases. Consular Transparency Data for 2020 can be found on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-commonwealth-development-office-consular-data-2021). This includes the number of new arrest or detention cases that have been opened by consular staff relating to British nationals in Hong Kong, and the number of allegations of torture or mistreatment relating to Hong Kong that have been reported to consular officials. In 2020, consular officials received fewer than five allegations of torture or mistreatment from British nationals relating to Hong Kong.
We take all allegations of torture and mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. Although we cannot investigate torture or mistreatment allegations, with the individual’s permission, we can raise them with the local authorities, demanding an end to the mistreatment, and that the incident is investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice. The assistance we can, and cannot, provide to British nationals abroad is set out in the publication: Support for British nationals abroad: A Guide on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-britishnationals-abroad-a-guide).
The UK will not look the other way on Hong Kong. We will continue to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, call out the violation of their rights and freedoms, and hold China to their international obligations.
Date and time of answer: 28 Jun 2021 at 17:42.
