Baroness Hussein-Ece
Main Page: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Baroness Goldie
As I indicated to my noble friend Lord Balfe, the United Kingdom Government’s position on the death penalty is crystal clear and widely known and understood. I have also indicated that Council of Europe members seem to be unanimous in their opposition to the death penalty. It would be for the Council of Europe membership to determine how to respond if—it is an “if”—Turkey went down the undesirable road of reintroducing the death penalty. However, I think that Turkey understands that that would jeopardise its position within the Council of Europe.
Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)
My Lords, what discussions or representations have been made about the detention of Amnesty International’s Turkish director and the sheer number of journalists—quite an unprecedented number—being detained in Turkey? Is the Minister aware that the mass demonstration last Sunday of hundreds of thousands of Turks of all colours, and all political backgrounds and none, shows that there is a strong movement in Turkey to bring the country back to a more plural and democratic state than we see it in?
Baroness Goldie
I thank the noble Baroness, who raises three important issues. We share concerns about the detention of the chair of Amnesty International, Taner Kiliç, and that of other lawyers. I am pleased that staff in the embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul met Amnesty International staff in June to express their support. The Foreign Secretary raised Mr Kiliç’s detention directly with the Turkish Foreign Minister recently, and our embassy in Ankara, including our ambassador, has also raised that matter at a senior level with the Turkish authorities. We also share the noble Baroness’s concerns about the detention of Idil Eser, the director of Amnesty International Turkey. The Prime Minister raised with President Erdogan at the G20 summit the issue of Idil Eser, also emphasising the importance of fundamental rights and the rule of law. This final point of the noble Baroness’s question referred to freedom of expression. Yes, of course we support that; we are concerned about the actions against Turkey’s oldest independent newspaper and against two journalists working for it, and we strongly encourage Turkey to protect freedom of expression. We feel that respect for the freedom of the media is essential for the long-term health of Turkish democracy.