Turkey condemns US court's parole for murderer of envoy

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the parole of a convict in the U.S who murdered a Turkish diplomat.

A court in Los Angeles accepted on Wednesday the defense attorney’s demand for a conditional release of the Armenian-origin convict, Hampig Sassounian, who killed Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan in the U.S. city on Jan. 28, 1982.

"We strongly condemn and reject the decision, which can be appealed and will be implemented by the governor of California," the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"The decision, which has been taken in accordance with local political dynamics instead of universally accepted principles of justice, is unfair as well as against the spirit of cooperation in the fight against terrorism," it added.

An Armenian terrorist group had killed 31 Turkish diplomats across the world between 1973 and 1986. The assassinations took place in the U.S., Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal, Iran, and the U.K.

Turkey continues to pay tribute to Arikan and other Turkish diplomats and citizens who were victims of terrorism, the statement added.