ArmInfo. American Turks are trying to disrupt the conditional release of "ASALA" fighter Hampig Sassounian. So according to Anadol, representatives of the US Turkish community urged California governor Gavin Newsom not to approve the decision on conditional release of Hampig Sassounian, who killed Turkey's Consul General Kemal Arykan in Los Angeles in 1982, and sentenced for this to life imprisonment. Moreover, the Turkish- American National Regulatory Committee launched a signature-collection campaign calling for the annulment of the court ruling,
Ethnic Turks from all the US states took part in the campaign, and Turks residing in California listed their demands in a letter to the governor. It should be noted that on December 27, 2019, a meeting was held in a California court at which a decision was made on the conditional release of the convict Hampig Sassounian, who on January 28, 1982 killed the Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan in Los Angeles. The decision will enter into force after the approval of the governor. On December 28, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned this decision: "We strongly condemn and reject the decision, which can be appealed and subject to approval by the California governor," the ministry said in a statement. - "This decision, which paves the way for the release of the murderer of our diplomat, who suffered a martyrdom on his own duty, contradicts the principles of universal law and justice and is incompatible with the spirit of cooperation in the fight against terrorism."
Earlier, on June 29, the California Parole Hearing Council rejected Hampig Sassounian's request for parole from San Quentin State Prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the 1982 murder.
Hampig Sassounian was a member of the Armenian Youth Federation and the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) organization
Between 1973 and 1986, justice fighters killed 31 Turkish diplomats around the world. The killings occurred in the United States, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal, Iran and the United Kingdom.
It should be noted that in 2016, Sassounian was pardoned by the California Clemency Commission, but California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed this decision.
It should be noted that Hampig Sassounian was a member of the JCAG organization, which is an ally of ASALA. In 1982, Turkish special services killed the leader of the JSAG, Abram Aschyan, and after that nothing was known about the activities of the JCAG, perhaps the organization took a new name - "Armenian Revolutionary Army".