Sheikh Hasina And The Return Of Foreign Dignitaries To Their Home Countries

EDM number 1377 in 2006-07, proposed by Keith Vaz on 30/04/2007.

That this House believes that current procedures for handling foreign dignitaries that have been banned by their Government from returning to their home nation are unacceptable; notes the case of Sheikh Hasina, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who was refused permission to board by British Airways to a return flight to Dhaka; understands that British Airways was informed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh that the plane would not be allowed to land and disembark if Sheikh Hasina was aboard; believes that the international travel system should not be used as an arm of the state; further believes that British authorities overreacted with the use of a number of armed police to escort Sheikh Hasina from Heathrow Airport in front of international media when she had committed no crime in the UK; further believes that in such situations the Foreign and Commonwealth Office should make firm representations to the relevant government; and fears that this incident risks setting a precedent for other countries.

This motion has been signed by a total of 26 MPs.