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12.4 am
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. David Davis): I apologise to the hon. Member for Blyth Valley (Mr. Campbell) on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who holds ministerial responsibility for our relations with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and for consular matters. He is presently in Indonesia on official business, so is unable to respond to the debate. I will do my best to do justice both to the debate and to the interests of Mr. Miah.
The protection of Britons and British interests overseas is the most important role of our diplomatic missions. Consular officials react immediately to allegations of mistreatment of Britons overseas. It is also important that appropriate travel guidance is given to Britons before they travel, and that knowledge of difficulties that may be faced by Britons receives the widest possible publicity. I am glad that the hon. Member has raised the subject, and I congratulate him on using the Adjournment debate to
bring to the attention of the House some of the problems faced by British citizens travelling to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
From time to time, we have received reports of harassment of British citizens in those three countries--they have come mainly from Bangladesh, where our high commission has heard of British/Bangladeshi business men experiencing problems with customs or immigration officials at Zia international airport. Timely intervention by high commission staff has, on occasions, been sufficient to resolve the difficulties.
However, as the hon. Member for Blyth Valley has told us, an incident occurred recently at Zia international airport which tragically resulted in the death of Mr. Siraj Miah, a British/Bangladeshi business man, while he was in the custody of customs officials. The British high commission was not immediately informed of Mr. Miah's death.
We are deeply concerned by this incident, and have expressed our concern to the Bangladeshi authorities. They are conducting a murder inquiry. We have urged them to complete the inquiry as soon as possible, and to let us know the result. We have expressed our deepest sympathy to Mr. Miah's wife and family, and I reiterate that today.
We first learned of Mr. Miah's death from reports in the Dhaka press around 16 May. Mr. Siraj Miah, who, we understand, enjoyed both British and Bangladeshi nationality, reportedly died while in the custody of officials at Zia international airport on 9 May. Conflicting stories initially suggested that he had fallen against a window, cut himself and died later in hospital, or that he had become involved in a struggle and, as a result, suffered a heart attack.
It was also alleged that Mr. Miah had been taken into custody, severely beaten by customs officers and later died. No official statement has yet been made by the Bangladeshi authorities, and we do not yet know the truth of the matter.
Following those reports, and inquiries from groups representing the Bangladeshi community in the UK, our high commission made inquiries of the Dhaka police authorities on 19 May. They informed the high commission that the Dhaka metropolitan police had launched a murder investigation into Mr. Miah's death. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office instructed the high commission to bring this case to the attention of the Bangladesh Home Secretary and establish what action was taken to investigate the death. I should explain, en passant, that the Home Secretary is the senior official at the Bangladesh Home Ministry. These events took place during the period when Bangladesh had a caretaker Government, pending elections that took place on 12 June.
On 22 May, in the absence of the Bangladeshi Home Secretary, Miss Miriam McIntosh, the deputy high commissioner, called on Faizur Rahman Choudhury, the Additional Home Secretary. She expressed our concern over the circumstances surrounding Mr. Miah's death, and drew Mr. Choudhury's attention to the high level of concern in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Choudhury repeated that the case was being treated as murder, and that the Criminal Investigation Division had been charged to carry out a prompt investigation.
He said that the investigation was already under way, and promised to keep us informed of developments. He said that whoever was found to be responsible would feel the full weight of the law. Subsequently, on 3 June, the first secretary of the high commission spoke to the additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, who confirmed that the investigation was continuing.
On 10 June, the first secretary called on the Additional Home Secretary and drew his attention to the UK parliamentary interest in the case, referring to the early-day motion tabled by the hon. Member for Blyth Valley and others, which focused on the treatment that returning British Bangladeshis received on arrival in Bangladesh. He also drew his attention to the fact that several organisations in the UK had written along similar lines.
He asked what steps the Bangladesh authorities intended to take to guarantee the safe arrival and the smooth--in the hon. Gentleman's word, "hassle-free"--transfer of passengers from the United Kingdom. He reiterated our concern following Mr. Miah's death, and urged him to ensure that the inquiry was completed as soon as possible.
Mr. Choudhury informed him that the murder investigation was still proceeding, and confirmed that we would be made aware of the outcome. Mr. Choudhury also assured him that the Home Ministry had instructed the civil aviation authorities on their responsibilities towards international travellers through Zia international airport. He said that the Bangladesh authorities took these responsibilities very seriously.
Following the 12 June elections and the formation of a new Government, Mr. Peter Fowler, our high commissioner in Dhaka, called on the new Home Secretary, Rafiqul Islam, on 4 July to pursue the case. At the meeting, the high commissioner emphasised the extent of feeling about the case in the United Kingdom; concern expressed at Mr. Miah's tragic death by the House; and the strength of accumulated frustration and irritation felt in the UK at the behaviour of customs and other officials in Bangladesh, especially at Zia international airport. The Home Secretary promised to follow up on this case. We will continue to urge the Home Ministry to expedite the police inquiry.
The high commissioner also raised the matter with the new Foreign Minister when he called on him on 8 July. The Foreign Minister repeated assurances that the case would be vigorously pursued by the Bangladeshi authorities.
I have set out the chronology of our involvement following Mr. Miah's tragic death to show how seriously we are treating the case, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman sees that a series of actions have been addressed to that.
The British high commission in Dhaka has expressed to the Bangladeshi authorities its dissatisfaction at the way in which British citizens are treated at Zia international airport. It intends to work closely with the airport authorities and other interested parties with a view to improving services for British passengers.
The hon. Gentleman to some extent majored on the issue of bribes. There have been reports of customs officials at Dhaka demanding bribes from returning British Bangladeshis. It is a difficult area, but we suggest that complaints be made to the police or to the Bangladesh
high commissioner in London, or that our high commission be informed, which can draw the matter to the attention of the local authorities in each case. That is our recommendation regarding individual cases.
If I may widen the point a little, many people will be familiar with the consular protection services that we provide to British citizens throughout the world. There is no distinction between British citizens of any colour, creed or religion. I reiterate that point, because it is important to understand our attitude to this.
It is worth reminding the House what we can and cannot do. We devote considerable resources to safeguarding the interests of British nationals overseas. In 1994-95, the cost of consular services overseas amounted to some £42 million. The calls on our services are increasing, as are the numbers of Britons who travel abroad. In l995, 4l.5 million UK citizens travelled overseas--an increase of 7.5 per cent. over 1994. British nationals resident overseas now number more than 10 million people. There were over 17,000 requests for consular assistance in 1995.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office gives consular help and advice to Britons abroad in a variety of ways, through our consular staff overseas. Apart from such statutory activities as passport issue, birth and death registration and the certification of various legal documents, consular staff deal with many human problems.
Those range from helping people who have lost their passport, fallen ill, been robbed, beaten up, injured or arrested--rightly or wrongly--often in a country where they are friendless and whose language and customs they do not understand. Our staff deal with football hooligans, drunks and drug smugglers, and they are required to visit regularly all prisoners who want them to do so.
Mr. Ronnie Campbell:
Will the Minister give way?
Mr. Davis:
If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I have a lot to get through.
Consular staff often see people at their most vulnerable or at their worst; they may have to deal with sudden death, suicides, emergencies, major disasters and grieving relatives.
In providing consular assistance, the Government do not draw a distinction between the different categories of British nationality. Nor do they distinguish between those who have acquired British citizenship through residence in the UK or by other means, such as the British nationality selection scheme. All receive equal treatment.
However, there are certain things that we cannot do. We have no locus to intervene with the Government of Bangladesh on behalf of one of its citizens. International law limits the formal protection that we can offer to dual nationals when they are in the country of their other nationality. We cannot interfere in the local judicial procedures of a sovereign state, nor can we investigate a crime: that is for the local police authorities. There are, therefore, legal limits to what the Government can formally do in such cases. That does not, however, prevent us doing whatever we can to help informally.
Certainly, British nationals who are also nationals of another country cannot be protected by Her Majesty's representatives from the authorities of that other country. If, under the law of the country of their second nationality, they are liable for any obligation such as military service, the fact that they also enjoy British nationality does not offer them exemption.
British citizens who have some connection with a foreign or Commonwealth country by birth, descent or marriage may be nationals of that country in addition to being British nationals. Acquisition of British nationality or citizenship by a foreigner does not necessarily cause the loss of nationality of origin. So we are limited in some respects.
Relations between the UK and Bangladesh are based on long historical ties, and marked by close friendship. The hon. Gentleman alluded to that fact. The Bangladeshi community in the UK play an important role in maintaining the strong links that exist between our countries. I am well aware of the depth of feeling surrounding the case of Mr. Siraj Miah within the British Bangladeshi community, and we take their views fully into account.
I believe that the range of actions that I have outlined shows that the British Government have taken all possible steps to ensure that a full investigation is carried out into Mr. Miah's death, and that conditions for British citizens visiting Bangladesh are improved.
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