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Revision as of 11:59, 6 October 2022 editTimrollpickering (talk | contribs)Administrators349,779 editsm Moving from Category:Armenians of the Ottoman Empire to Category:Armenians from the Ottoman Empire per Misplaced Pages:Categories for discussion/Log/2022 September 28 using Cat-a-lot← Previous edit Revision as of 17:13, 7 April 2023 edit undoLightiggy (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users57,331 edits Added categoriesTag: Visual editNext edit →
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==Biography== ==Biography==
Torlakian was born in 1889 in ], ]. Joining the ] (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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prelate Presides over Memorial for National Hero Misak Torlakian |url=https://westernprelacy.org/en/prelate-presides-over-memorial-for-national-hero-misak-torlakian/ |website=westernprelacy.org |publisher=Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America |access-date=7 August 2021 |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718080810/http://westernprelacy.org/en/prelate-presides-over-memorial-for-national-hero-misak-torlakian/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Torlakian was born in 1889 in ], ]. Joining the ] (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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prelate Presides over Memorial for National Hero Misak Torlakian |url=https://westernprelacy.org/en/prelate-presides-over-memorial-for-national-hero-misak-torlakian/ |website=westernprelacy.org |publisher=Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America |access-date=7 August 2021 |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718080810/http://westernprelacy.org/en/prelate-presides-over-memorial-for-national-hero-misak-torlakian/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Tasked to obtain military intelligence during ], Torlakian, by then a member of a ] scout unit, provided valuable information about ] dispositions. After the Russian withdrawal from the Turkish front in 1918, which allowed the ] to advance unimpeded towards ], Torlakian joined Armenian army forces and participated with distinction in the ], under the leadership of ]. The battle stopped the Turkish army from advancing any further. The hard-fought victory, along with others in ] and ], led to the establishment of the ] (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 "]" program carried out by the ] after the ]. Tasked to obtain military intelligence during ], Torlakian, by then a member of a ] scout unit, provided valuable information about ] dispositions. After the Russian withdrawal from the Turkish front in 1918, which allowed the ] to advance unimpeded towards ], Torlakian joined Armenian army forces and participated with distinction in the ], under the leadership of ]. The battle stopped the Turkish army from advancing any further. The hard-fought victory, along with others in ] and ], led to the establishment of the ] (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 "]" program carried out by the ] after the ].


Torlakian was tried by a British military court on August 11, 1921. Misak Torlakian's trial is the twin of the trial of ]. 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 ], ], ] and ] in the aftermath of ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yeghiayan |first1=Vartkes |last2=Arabyan |first2=Ara |title=The case of Misak Torlakian |date=2006 |publisher=Center for Armenian Remembrance |location=United States |isbn=978-0977715305}}</ref> Torlakian was tried by a British military court on August 11, 1921. Misak Torlakian's trial is the twin of the trial of ]. 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 ], ], ] and ] in the aftermath of ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yeghiayan |first1=Vartkes |last2=Arabyan |first2=Ara |title=The case of Misak Torlakian |date=2006 |publisher=Center for Armenian Remembrance |location=United States |isbn=978-0977715305}}</ref>
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Revision as of 17:13, 7 April 2023

Misak Torlakian
Born1889
Trabizond, Ottoman Empire
DiedNovember 12, 1968(1968-11-12) (aged 78–79)
Montebello, California
NationalityArmenian
Known forAssassination of Behbud Khan Javanshir

Misak Torlakian (1889 – 12 November 1968) was the assassin of Behbud Khan Javanshir, former Minister of Interior of Azerbaijan, 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. Joining the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (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, Torlakian, by then a member of a Russian Army scout unit, provided valuable information about Turkish army dispositions. After the Russian withdrawal from the Turkish front in 1918, which allowed the Turks to advance unimpeded towards Yerevan, 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 (1918–1920). In 1921, Torlakian was sent by the ARF to Constantinople (nowadays Istanbul) to execute Behbud Khan Javanshir, 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" program carried out by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation after the Armenian genocide.

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. 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, Turks, Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the aftermath of World War I.

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, where he died in Montebello, California, in 1968. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in East Los Angeles.

See also

References

  1. "Prelate Presides over Memorial for National Hero Misak Torlakian". westernprelacy.org. Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  2. Yeghiayan, Vartkes; Arabyan, Ara (2006). The case of Misak Torlakian. United States: Center for Armenian Remembrance. ISBN 978-0977715305.
  3. Derogy, Jacques (1990). Resistance and Revenge: the Armenian Assassination of the Turkish Leaders. United States: Transaction Publishers. pp. 120–121. ISBN 0-88738-338-6. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  4. "Միսաք Թորլաքեան (1888-1968) - Արդարութեան Մարտիկը". Radio YAN - Armenian Radio Station. 14 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
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