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|---|---|
| Born | (1954-03-07)March 7, 1954 Kamishli, Syria |
| Criminal status | Pardoned by French authorities, deported to Armenia |
| Motive | Revenge |
| Criminal charge | Terrorist attack |
| Penalty | Convicted on terrorism charges |
Varoujan Garabedian (Template:Lang-hy, also Varadjian Garbidjian) is a former member of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA).
Biography
He was born in 1954 in Kamishli, Syria, into a family of Armenian refugees from the Armenian Genocide.
Confession to Orly airport attack
After the July 15, 1983 bombing of a Turkish Airlines check-in desk at Orly airport, Paris, the police raids yielded 50 Armenians believed to have links to the ASALA, of whom 20 were being held without charge. French officials said 11 of them would be expelled, some were Turkish and Iranian citizens. Turkey requested extradition of those with Turkish passports. After the deportations of Armenians suspected in support to ASALA started in France, Garabedian surrendered to French police, confessed to planting the bomb and was arrested for taking part in the Orly airport attack The attack killed 8 people.
According to US sources, among the 20 foreigners of Armenian origin who were deported — as among the 10 militants brought before the court along with Garabedian — there were men and women whose activities had little to do with the Armenian cause.
Trial
During the trial in Créteil, France, Garabedian, where he was defended by Jacques Vergès (the victims of attack being defended by Gide Loyrette Nouel) denied his earlier confession of having planted the bomb, but was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on March 3, 1985.
Pardon and deportation
In the late 1990's tens of thousands of petitions from around the world, appeals by Armenian government and civic leaders including former and current presidents of Armenia were sent to the French authorities to pardon Varoujan Garabedian and Armenia offered asylum to Garabedian upon his release from prison.. After spending 17 years in jail, he was pardoned by the French government on April 23, 2001 on the condition that he be deported to Armenia. The mayor of Yerevan, Robert Nazaryan, had pledged to provide him with employment and accommodation, and in Yerevan Garabedian had a meeting with Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, who expressed happiness at his release. While in prison, he started to paint and is an author of many paintings.
References
- THE WORLD; By Henry Giniger, Milt Freudenheim and Carlyle C. Douglas, July 24, 1983, New York Times
- The New York Times. Paris says suspect confesses attack
- ^ "Armenian premier meets with released ASALA member". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Newsline. May 7, 2001.
- Near East/South Asia report, Vol 2828. Foreign Broadcast Information Service, United States, p. 13
- United Press International, Foreign News Briefs, March 4, 1985; Template:FrText of the verdict
- AIM magazine, Vol. 10, 1999, p. 20
- Agence France Presse, April 24, 2001. Armenian terrorist freed and deported from France
- (in Russian) "Sobesednik Armenii" #25, 2008/Невозможно постоянно иметь революционное поколение