Turkish lawyer threatens to submit charges against Dutch official

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz threatens to submit charges against Nebahat Albayrak, Secretary of State of the Dutch Justice Ministry. He warns the Secretary of State that she may not offend her native country. According to the nationalist lawyer best thing to do for Albayrak is to hand in her Turkish passport, because she is a member of a government that condemns the Armenian Genocide. Kerincsiz said so in the Dutch news program "Een Vandaag". The threat of a charge coincides with the discussion in the Netherlands about the double nationality issue.



As PanARMENIAN.Net came to know from the Federation of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands, beside Dutch nationality Secretary of State Albayrak has also a Turkish passport. In a response through her spokesman she said she will wait and see if she will be really charged.



In the past Kerincsiz has already started actions against Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk and ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was assassinated last January. In the case of Dink the charge led to a condemnation, while the Istanbul court cancelled the case against Pamuk under international pressure.



The lawyer calls upon the controversial article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, which makes insult of the Turkish identity punishable. Albayrak being a member of Dutch Parliament in 2004 supported a motion, which called for recognition of the Armenian Genocide. That request was passed unanimously and was also taken over by the Dutch government.