No Restrictions Imposed on Leaving Armenia for Attila Chichak and Husein Yıldırım

The Armenian Ministry of Justice has presented new details regarding the case of Kurdish nationals Husein Yıldırım and Attila Chichak, who currently find themselves in Turkey under unclear circumstances.

The ministry clarifies that there was no restriction imposed on Yıldırım and Chichak regarding leaving Armenia. However, it did not specify how they ended up in Turkey, stating that this matter falls outside the jurisdiction of the ministry.

In response to a written inquiry from Armenpress, the Ministry of Justice reported that on January 20, 2022, the first instance court of the Syunik region condemned the citizens of the Republic of Turkey, Kurdish nationals Husein Abdulmenaf Yıldırım and Attila Kazım Chichak, for actions stipulated under Article 235, Part 2, Article 235.1, Part 1, and Article 329, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, adopted in 2003. Chichak was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment and the confiscation of property worth $5,700, while Yıldırım received a 7-year sentence and confiscation of property valued at 3 million Iranian rials.

It is noted that according to the ruling from February 20, 2022, Yıldırım and Chichak illegally crossed the state border of Armenia from the Islamic Republic of Iran on August 16, 2021, without the requisite documentation and permissions, bringing firearms and ammunition into Armenia through smuggling, after which they were apprehended by officers of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, who seized the illegally transported weapons and ammunition.

Following the sentence on February 20, 2022, an appeal was filed, and as a result, the Court of Appeals partially upheld the defense's complaint on February 23, 2022, altering the imposed prison sentence to five years for each defendant, while maintaining the confiscation of property. In the same decision, according to Article 70 of the Criminal Code, the execution of the imposed sentence was not applied, establishing a probation period of 3 years. The selected measure of restraint—detention—was lifted, and Chichak and Yıldırım were released from the courtroom.

An appeal against the Court of Appeals' decision of February 23, 2022 was submitted by both the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia and the defendants’ legal representatives; however, the acceptance of these appeals into proceedings was denied. Consequently, the relevant court decision came into force on July 28, 2022.

According to Part 3 of Article 282 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, the judicial decision regarding execution must be sent, along with the decision of the higher court for re-examination, to the body that is legally obliged to execute the decision—in this case, the probation service of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia. The probation service can only execute the court decision once it has legally come into force and been officially received.

In relation to this, it is stated that the court decision of January 20, 2022, and the decision of the Court of Appeals of February 23, 2022, regarding Attila Kazım Chichak and Husein Abdulmenaf Yıldırım, have not imposed any restrictions on leaving the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

Furthermore, regarding how members of the Kurdish Workers' Party, Attila Kazım Chichak and Husein Abdulmenaf Yıldırım, ended up in Turkey, it is noted that considering these individuals were released under the decision of the RA Court of Appeals on February 23, 2022, and that no restrictions were imposed on leaving the territory of Armenia, the Ministry of Justice's probation service could only declare them wanted upon failing to locate them, which has been done. However, the clarification of the circumstances regarding their presence in Turkey falls outside the authority of the Ministry of Justice.