Varoujan Garabedian (, also ''Varadjian Garbidjian'' and ''Varuzhan Karapetian''; March 7, 1954 – January 29, 2019) was a Syrian-born Armenian nationalist. He was a member of the

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Government of Turkey, Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for ...

(ASALA) and head of the organization's French branch.Agence France Presse, April 24, 2001. Armenian terrorist freed and deported from France He was known for being the convicted perpetrator of the 1983 fatal bombing at

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Garabedian was later pardoned by French authorities nearly 20 years after the attack.

Orly airport attack

On July 15, 1983, while serving as head of the

's French branch, Garabedian planted a bomb inside a suitcase at the

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

check-in desk in the south terminal of the

in Paris. The act was part of the group's global terrorism campaign against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

for the recognition and reparations for 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 ...

. After the bombing, the French police raided ASALA strongholds, confiscating arms and detaining 50 Armenians believed to have links to the ASALA. One of the arrested, Garabedian, confessed to being a leader of ASALA in France and for planting the bomb at the Orly airport. The attack killed eight people.

Trial

During the trial in

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, he was defended by

Jacques Vergès Jacques Vergès (; 5 March 1925 – 15 August 2013) was a French-Algerian lawyer of Vietnamese origin and anti-colonial activist. Vergès began as a fighter in the French Resistance during World War II, under Charles de Gaulle's Free French forc ...

while the victims of attack were represented by Gide Loyrette Nouel. Garabedian denied his earlier confession of having planted the bomb, but was found guilty (along with Nair Sonner and Ohannes Semerci) and sentenced to life imprisonment on March 3, 1985 for such "deeds that were aimed at Turkish targets". During the trial he admitted that he was the head of ASALA's French branch.

Pardon and deportation

In the late 1990s, a petition was signed by over one million people in Armenia for his release. According to the French press, after spending 17 years in jail, his lawyers were able to reopen the case because of a legislative change in the French justice system. The judges pardoned him citing good behavior in prison, efforts in compensating the victims, and that ASALA was dissolved. He was pardoned by the

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

court of appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

on April 23, 2001 on the condition that he be deported to

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. The mayor of

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 ...

, Robert Nazaryan, had pledged to provide him with employment and accommodation, and in Yerevan Garabedian had a meeting with Prime Minister

Andranik Margaryan Andranik Nahapeti Margaryan (; 12 June 1951 – 25 March 2007) was an Armenian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Armenia from 12 May 2000, when the President appointed him, until his death on 25 March 2007. He was a member of the ...

, who expressed happiness at his release. While in prison, he started to paint and produced many paintings.

Aftermath

Many prominent Armenian intellectuals, including

Zori Balayan Zori Hayki Balayan (, born February 10, 1935) is an Armenian novelist, journalist, sports doctor, traveler and sports expert. He was awarded the "Renowned master of the Arts" an Armenian official title. Biography Balayan was born in Stepanaker ...

Silva Kaputikyan Silva Kaputikyan () (20 January 1919 – 25 August 2006) was an Armenian poet and political activist. One of the best-known Armenian writers of the twentieth century, she is recognized as "the leading poetess of Armenia" and "the grand lady of t ...

Sos Sargsyan Sos Artashesi Sargsyan (; 24 October 1929 – 26 September 2013) was a prominent Armenian actor, director and writer. Biography Sos Sargsyan was born in Stepanavan in northern Armenia, at the time part of the Soviet Union. He moved to Yerevan ...

Gevorg Emin Gevorg Emin (, born Karlen Muradyan; September 30, 1919 – July 11, 1998) was an Armenian poet, essayist, and translator. Biography Emin, the son of a school teacher, was born in the town of Ashtarak. In 1927, his family moved to Yereva ...

, Perch Zeytuntsyan,

Levon Ananyan Levon Ananyan (; 13 October 1946 – 2 September 2013) was an Armenian journalist and translator. Biography Born in Koghb, Tavush, Levon Ananyan was a graduate of the Yerevan State University, Department of Philology. He worked for a number ...

and others expressed support of Garabedian. According to Armenian media, Garabedian was unofficially "supervising" the Yerevan-Dilijan transport line and with his guards was a part of a criminal incident in 2010. Garabedian died on 29 January 2019 in

from a suspected

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at the age of 64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garabedian, Varoujan 1954 births 2019 deaths 20th-century criminals Armenian people convicted of murder Armenian people imprisoned abroad Armenian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia People convicted on terrorism charges People from Qamishli Foreign nationals imprisoned in France Syrian people of Armenian descent People convicted of murder by France Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by France