To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the government of Afghanistan to stay the execution of the death sentence imposed on the journalist Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh charged with insulting Islam. (183312)

The Government were concerned to hear about the case of Sayed Parwez. We are opposed to the death penalty for any crime. We fully support the right to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial. We are pursuing the matter in Afghanistan through the EU and UN. The office of the UN Special Representative in Afghanistan has already called publicly for a review of the case.