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SWISS PROSECUTOR LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION AGAINST TURKISH MINISTER FOR DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
armradio.am
06.02.2012 17:33
A Zurich prosecutor on Monday launched an investigation into remarks by
Egemen Bag覺癬_, Turkey's EU affairs minister and chief EU negotiator,
after he said in Zurich that there was no Armenian genocide and
that Swiss authorities could arrest him if they wanted to, Today's
Zaman reports.
News about the prosecution's move was published in the Swiss daily
Neue Zurcher Zeitung. The Zurich Chief Prosecutor's Office launched
the investigation into Bag覺癬_'s remarks- which he made last month in
Zurich on his way back from the World Economic Forum at Davos - based
on a complaint filed by members of Switzerland's Armenian community.
"There is no Armenian genocide. Let them arrest me," Bag覺癬_ said last
week following a question from a French reporter on the 1915 killings.
Zurich State Prosecutor Christine Braunschweig was quoted by the daily
as having said: "Last week we received a petition about this issue,
informing us that Mr. Bag覺癬_ violated the anti-racism Article 261 of
the Swiss Penal Code. Our prosecutor's office has taken this allegation
seriously and launched an investigation. We will investigate whether
Egemen Bag覺癬_ uttered words denying the Armenian genocide as asserted
in the petition. We will also see if he has diplomatic immunity. At
the end of this, we will press charges against him if there indeed
is a violation and if he cannot benefit from diplomatic immunity."
Last week, in response to a question from a French journalist on
what he thought of a bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian
genocide adopted by the French Senate in January, Bag覺癬_ said:
"Here I am in Switzerland today, and I'm saying the 1915 incidents
did not amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me."
armradio.am
06.02.2012 17:33
A Zurich prosecutor on Monday launched an investigation into remarks by
Egemen Bag覺癬_, Turkey's EU affairs minister and chief EU negotiator,
after he said in Zurich that there was no Armenian genocide and
that Swiss authorities could arrest him if they wanted to, Today's
Zaman reports.
News about the prosecution's move was published in the Swiss daily
Neue Zurcher Zeitung. The Zurich Chief Prosecutor's Office launched
the investigation into Bag覺癬_'s remarks- which he made last month in
Zurich on his way back from the World Economic Forum at Davos - based
on a complaint filed by members of Switzerland's Armenian community.
"There is no Armenian genocide. Let them arrest me," Bag覺癬_ said last
week following a question from a French reporter on the 1915 killings.
Zurich State Prosecutor Christine Braunschweig was quoted by the daily
as having said: "Last week we received a petition about this issue,
informing us that Mr. Bag覺癬_ violated the anti-racism Article 261 of
the Swiss Penal Code. Our prosecutor's office has taken this allegation
seriously and launched an investigation. We will investigate whether
Egemen Bag覺癬_ uttered words denying the Armenian genocide as asserted
in the petition. We will also see if he has diplomatic immunity. At
the end of this, we will press charges against him if there indeed
is a violation and if he cannot benefit from diplomatic immunity."
Last week, in response to a question from a French journalist on
what he thought of a bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian
genocide adopted by the French Senate in January, Bag覺癬_ said:
"Here I am in Switzerland today, and I'm saying the 1915 incidents
did not amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me."