asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will draw the attention of the European Union Commissioner for Enlargement to the sentence of five months’ imprisonment imposed by a Turkish court on Mr Ragip Zarakolou for translating and publishing a book by George Jerjian on the killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. [HL4463]

We understand that the case against Mr Ragip Zarakolou is currently under appeal. We note that the prison sentence imposed by the Turkish court has been commuted to a fine.

The Government do not plan to bring this case specifically to the attention of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement. However, our embassy in Ankara is in close touch with the European Commission delegation in Turkey and has discussed this case with them in detail. We will continue to follow developments closely.

We continue to impress on Turkey the need for effective implementation of the recent legislative amendments to its constitution and penal code, including on freedom of expression cases.