Misak Torlakian (1889 – 12 November 1968) was the

assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Behbud Khan Javanshir Behbud Khan Javanshir (; 24 July 1878 – 18 July 1921) was an Azerbaijani politician, diplomat, Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. Early life Behbud Khan Javanshir was bor ...

, former Minister of Interior of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, in 1921. Torlakian was admitted "guilty but not responsible" due to his mental condition by a British military tribunal in October 1921.

Biography

Torlakian was born in 1889 in Trabizond,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Joining the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

(ARF) at the age of 18, Torlakian succeeded in providing substantial amount of arms from a Turkish army depot in Trabizond for Armenian self-defense units. Tasked to obtain military intelligence during

World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

, Torlakian, by then a member of a

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

scout unit, provided valuable information about

Turkish army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

dispositions. After the Russian withdrawal from the Turkish front in 1918, which allowed the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

to advance unimpeded towards

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, Torlakian joined Armenian army forces and participated with distinction in the battle of Bash Abaran, under the leadership of General Dro. The battle stopped the Turkish army from advancing any further. The hard-fought victory, along with others in Sardarabad and Karakilise, led to the establishment of the

Democratic Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in the Armenian-popula ...

(1918–1920). In 1921, Torlakian was sent by the ARF to Constantinople (nowadays Istanbul) to execute

, former Minister of Interior of Azerbaijan, who was assassinated outside the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul on July 18, 1921. This killing was part of the "

Operation Nemesis Operation Nemesis () was a program of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to assassinate both Ottoman Empire, Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian genocide and officials of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic most responsible for the massacre o ...

" program carried out by the

after the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. Torlakian was tried by a British military court on August 11, 1921. Misak Torlakian's trial is the twin of the trial of

Soghomon Tehlirian Soghomon Tehlirian (; April 2, 1896 – May 23, 1960) was an Armenian revolutionary and soldier who assassinated Talaat Pasha, the former Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, in Berlin on March 15, 1921. He was entrusted to carry out the assas ...

. Both trials involved the murder of a government official and both perpetrators were found not guilty. History, theology, philosophy, physiology, psychology, and politics were invoked by both sides to sway the military judge in the case of Torlakian and the jury of peers in the case of Tehlirian. Thus, in addition to being landmark legal cases, these two trials reveal the prevailing mindsets and political strategies of

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

and

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

in the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In October 1921, the British tribunal issued a guilty verdict but ruled that he was not responsible for his actions due to his epilepsy. Torlakian was expelled to Greece, where he was released and left for the United States. He eventually settled in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he died in

Montebello, California Montebello (Italian language, Italian for "Beautiful Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located just east of East Los Angeles, California, East Los Angeles and southwest of San Gabriel Valley. It is an indepen ...

, in 1968. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in East Los Angeles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torlakian, Misak 1889 births 1968 deaths Operation Nemesis Armenian assassins Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian emigrants to the United States People acquitted of murder Burials at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles People from Montebello, California People from Trabzon Civilians who were court-martialed People who were court-martialed by the British military Vigilantes

Biography

See also

References