Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the Turkish government to protect citizens’ rights after the attempted coup in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan

The Government has firmly condemned the attempted coup in Turkey on 15 July. Britain stands firmly in support of Turkey’s democratically elected government and institutions.

We are aware that on 21 July Turkey introduced a state of emergency. It is important that measures under the state of emergency be proportionate, justified and in line with its democratic principles and its international human rights obligations. I emphasised the need for Turkey to respect human rights including press freedom and the rule of law during my visit to Ankara on 20-21 July. We continue to engage with the Turkish Government at all levels on these issues, and to monitor the situation closely.