Turkish Citizen Who Crossed Armenian Border Sentenced to 9 Months in Jail

A Turkish citizen who illegally crossed the state border of the Republic of Armenia has been sentenced to 9 months in prison. This information has been reported by Tert.am based on the Judicial Information System.

The Turkish national, Atay Bilal, circumvented the border checkpoints on January 8, 2022, around 18:54. He crossed the Araks River – which serves as the border between Armenia and Turkey – on foot and managed to overcome the engineer-technical barriers under the supervision of the border guards of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation stationed in the area, without the necessary documents and proper permission.

Once he entered Armenia from Turkey, he was apprehended by the border guards of the Russian Federal Security Service. He was charged under Part 1 of Article 329 of the former Criminal Code, which stipulated a penalty of a fine ranging from 100 to 200 times the minimum wage or imprisonment for up to three years.

The court of general jurisdiction of Ararat and Vayots Dzor sentenced the Turkish citizen to nine months of imprisonment, with the term starting from January 8.