HC Deb 06 July 1920 vol 131 c1251W

Mr. A. HERBERT asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if Rahmi Bey received a special letter of thanks from His Majesty's Minister in Athens for extraordinary kindness shown to British subjects in Smyrna during the War; and if it is consonant with British traditions of gratitude to keep him a prisoner in Malta 18 months after the Armistice?

Mr. HARMSWORTH: His Majesty's Minister at Athens, in a letter to Rahmi Bey, dated the 22nd November, 1917, conveyed an expression of His Majesty's Government's appreciation of his treatment of British subjects in Smyrna. Rahmi Bey was arrested by the orders of the Turkish Government and is detained in Malta. The question of his release has been raised from other quarters and has received careful consideration. His detention is still considered necessary.