December 19, 2019 - 12:39 AMT
Istanbul honors official responsible for Baku pogrom of Armenians

Istanbul is now home to a statue of Behbud Khan Javanshir, a former Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, who was the mastermind behind the 1918 pogroms of Armenians in Baku.

An Azerbaijani consul in Turkey, Deputy governor of Istanbul and several other officials attended the unveiling ceremony.

The monument was installed in the district of Beyoglu, in the exact same spot where theArmenian revolutionary Misak Torlakian assassinated him as part of Operation Nemesis on July 18, 1921.

When questioned by the police, Torlakian said the assassination was justified because of killings of Armenians in Baku. The British tribunal issued a guilty verdict but ruled that he was not responsible for his actions due to his epilepsy. Torlokian left for Greece, where he was released and left for the United States.