Turkey's Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said the law proposal on the use of mother tongue in courts is almost ready and will be sent to parliament as soon as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan returns from Bali, where he is attending the 5th Democracy Forum.

Speaking to the press minister Ergin said that the AKP government was now putting its earlier declared intentions into practice and advancing work on other issues. The Minister said everybody should give their contribution.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arýnç had said earlier that defense in Kurdish would soon be possible with an amendment to Article 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK). The right to use one's mother tongue in courts is one of the demands by prisoners on hunger strike in Turkish jails since 12 September.