§ MR. HEDDERWICK (Wick Burghs)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, what steps the Government have taken to secure the punishment of the murderers of Yussuf Yunan, the British Agent of the Armenian Relief Fund, who was murdered at Sairt about a year ago, and to recover the £500 of which he was robbed; and what has been the result of the steps, if any, taken by the Government?
MR. CURZONHer Majesty's Vice-Consul at Bitlis reported on the 17th ultimo that, after a protracted trial, six men who were arrested for the murder of Yassuf Yunan, had been condemned to death by the Court at Sairt. The case has, from the beginning, occupied the attention of Her Majesty's Ambassador, who has continued to press the matter at the Porte, and the legal adviser to Her Majesty's Embassy has watched the proceedings throughout, and will continue to do so 624 when the sentence of the Sairt Court is sent to Constantinople for revision. Her Majesty's Vice-Consul at Bitlis was present at Sairt during part of the trial, and was afterwards in constant communication with the Relief Agent, who was watching the case. It has not been found possible, so far, to recover more than a small portion of the money stolen; but this part of the case, as distinct from the murder, has also not been lost sight of.