The terrorist attack, in which Consul-General of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Kemal Arıkan was martyred, was perpetrated by terrorists Hampig Sassounian and Krikor Saliba in the name of the Armenian terrorist organization. Hampig Sassounian was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The escapee terrorist Krikor Saliba allegedly died in the Lebanese civil war in 1982.

Terrorist Sassounian, with an intention to push the US laws, has once again applied to avail himself of the right to conditional parole. In the parole hearing on December 27, 2019, Sassounian was found suitable for parole.

Our expectation of non implementation of this decision has been brought to the attention of the US authorities with its justifications. The Governor of California, with his final decision dated 26 May 2020, reversed the decision to parole.

The murder that terrorist Sassounian shamefully committed and for which has not shown any sign of remorse throughout his prison term, will never be forgotten as a crime demonstrating the appalling dimensions of an ill and a twisted ideology.

This decision is welcomed as it once again indicated that terrorist attacks, as the utmost point of hate speech and extremism in the world, will not go unpunished.

On this occassion, we once again remember with respect and gratitude our martyred diplomat Kemal Arıkan and all our martyrs who fell victim to terrorism.