From Europe News:
Swiss prosecutors have launched a probe into alleged remarks by Turkey's EU affairs minister denying the Armenian genocide, a crime under Swiss anti-racism laws, ATS news agency said on Monday.
Egemen Bagis reportedly made the comments to a journalist last week during a visit to Zurich, where he was at a concert by Turkish singer Sezen Aksu after attending the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.
"We have ordered a police inquiry," Andrej Gnehm from the Zurich prosecutor's office told the Swiss news agency, confirming a report in the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.
According to Turkey's English-language newspaper Today's Zaman, the minister was asked about his views on a newly-adopted French bill criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide and he responded: "Switzerland is another country where it is a crime to deny the so-called genocide."
"Here I am in Switzerland today, and I'm saying the 1915 incidents did not amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me."
The paper said a complaint had been filed by members of Switzerland's Armenian community.
The facts of the case are not yet clear, Christine Braunschweig, who is in charge of the case, told ATS.
"We don't know at the moment exactly what was said." (...)
Turkish minister probed over Armenia remarks
The Local 8 February 2012
Egemen Bagis reportedly made the comments to a journalist last week during a visit to Zurich, where he was at a concert by Turkish singer Sezen Aksu after attending the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.
"We have ordered a police inquiry," Andrej Gnehm from the Zurich prosecutor's office told the Swiss news agency, confirming a report in the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.
According to Turkey's English-language newspaper Today's Zaman, the minister was asked about his views on a newly-adopted French bill criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide and he responded: "Switzerland is another country where it is a crime to deny the so-called genocide."
"Here I am in Switzerland today, and I'm saying the 1915 incidents did not amount to genocide. Let them come arrest me."
The paper said a complaint had been filed by members of Switzerland's Armenian community.
The facts of the case are not yet clear, Christine Braunschweig, who is in charge of the case, told ATS.
"We don't know at the moment exactly what was said." (...)
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