Cherkes Ahmet Explained

Cherkes Ahmet
Birth Place:Serres, Ottoman Empire
Death Date:September 6, 1915
Death Place:Damascus, Ottoman Syria, Ottoman Empire
Conviction:Premeditated mass murder
Robbery
Conviction Penalty:Death
Death Cause:Execution by hanging

Cherkes Ahmet (died September 6, 1915) was the leader of the Ottoman Empire's state-sponsored paramilitary marauders of supposedly Circassian origin during World War I. Cherkes Ahmet was from Serres, Macedonia. He was notoriously responsible for the murder of the well-known Armenian writer, literary critic and politician Krikor Zohrab and politician Vartkes Serengülian during the Armenian genocide.[1] [2] Ahmet supported the Committee of Union and Progress during the coup d'état of January 1913 following which he became a leading member of the Special Organization in Van,[3] where he was given the responsibility of subduing the Armenian population by Cevdet Bey, the Governor of Van at the time.[4] Ahmet, along with fellow murderers Halil and Nazim, were tried and executed in Damascus by Djemal Pasha in September 1915. The assassinations became the subject of a 1916 investigation by the Ottoman Parliament led by Artin Boshgezenian, the deputy for Aleppo.[5]

While Ahmet was officially executed for murder and robbery, the real reason for his execution was that he was considered a future liability. This was especially relevant, given the recent coup d'état.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dadrian, Vahakn. Documentation of the Armenian Genocide in Turkish Sources. 1991. Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide.
  2. Book: Hovannisian. Richard H.. Armenian Tigranakert/Diarbekir and Edessa/Urfa. 2006. Mazda Publ.. Costa Mesa, Calif.. 1568591535. 486.
  3. Book: Kevorkian, Raymond. The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. I.B.Tauris. 2011. 978-1-84885-561-8. 327. en.
  4. Kevorkian, Raymond (2011), p.329
  5. Book: Revue d'histoire arménienne contemporaine. Tome 1. Raymond H. Kévorkian . 1995. Paris. 254.
  6. Web site: Ցեղասպանության ժխտման մեջ Թուրքիայի պաշտոնական պատմագրության 10 հնացած թեզերը . 2023-04-07 . news.am . hy.