Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on 22 December that Selahattin Demirtas must be released from prison, what representations they intend to make to the government of Turkey about his release.
We regularly raise human rights issues with the Turkish authorities. My colleague the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas did so last month with her Turkish counterpart. With regard to this specific ruling, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will supervise the implementation of the judgment in Demirtaş (No.2) v Turkey, a process in which the United Kingdom actively participates. We will continue to encourage Turkey, including at Ministerial level, to act in line with the conventions of the Council of Europe and to make greater progress on wider human rights reforms.