On January 27, 1973, in Santa Barbara, California, United States, Gourgen Yanikian, an U.S. citizen of Armenian origin, assassinates Los Angeles Turkish Consul General, Mehmet Baydar, and Vice Consul, Bahadir Demir, after inviting the Turkish diplomats to his hotel suite to present the Turkish Government with a “gift.”
January 28, 1982 – Los Angeles, California, United States: Two Armenian gunmen assassinate Turkish Consul General, Kemal Arikan, in his automobile while waiting at an intersection.
On January 27, 1973 – Santa Barbara, California, United States:
Gourgen Yanikian, an elderly U.S. citizen of Armenian origin, assassinates Los Angeles Turkish Consul General, Mehmet Baydar, and Vice Consul, Bahadir Demir, after inviting the Turkish diplomats to his hotel suite to present the Turkish Government with a “gift.” Soon after killing the diplomats, Yanikian surrenders to police, is tried in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Santa Barbara, is convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Ten years later, California Governor George Deukmejian, who is of Armenian descent, orders the release of Yanikian, who dies of natural causes soon thereafter. The Armenian Reporter, commemorates Yanikian, declaring that he had “opened [a] new era of political struggle” and “changed the course of Armenian history.”
January 28, 1982 – Los Angeles, California, United States:
Two Armenian gunmen assassinate Turkish Consul General, Kemal Arikan, in his automobile while waiting at an intersection. JCAG claims responsibility. One of the assassins, Hampig Sassounian, a 19-year-old Armenian American member of the JCAG, is arrested shortly thereafter. Sassounian’s father states on public television, “I am glad that a Turk was killed, but my son did not do it.” Sassounian’s accomplice, believed to be Krikor Saliba, escapes to Beirut. Los Angeles police search Sassounian’s automobile, seizing a .357 caliber bullet and a one-way airline ticket from Los Angeles to Beirut. Police also search Sassounian’s home, where they seize a gun receipt, pistol targets, and a manifesto of “The Armenian Youth Federation.” Although Sassounian pleads not guilty, the Court convicts him of first-degree murder and sentences to life imprisonment. Sassounian’s sentence is later changed to 25 years-life in an appeal agreement in which he finally confesses to the killing. On October 6, 1980 a first attempt was made on Arikan’s life, when his home was firebombed.
