To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the US Administration on behalf of the death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. (244985)

[holding answer 12 January 2009]: To date there have been no representations made on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal. While we and our EU partners continue to oppose the use of the death penalty around the world, including in the US, this case has not been brought to the attention of the EU as a case which violates the minimum standards—as set out in the EU Guidelines on the Death Penalty—which the EU uses to determine when to intervene in individual cases.