Melbourne Turkish consulate bombing
Encyclopedia
The Melbourne Turkish consulate bombing was an attempt to bomb the Turkish
Consulate in Melbourne
, Victoria, Australia, on 23 November 1986. A car bomb exploded in the basement parking lot, killing Hagop Levonian, one of the bombers.
In 1986 the Turkish Consulate at 44 Caroline St, South Yarra, was devastated by a car bomb. The blast occurred at 2.16 a.m., Melbourne time. One man, Hagob Levonian, was killed in the blast which went off prematurely as he and an accomplice
, Levon Demirian, were setting the car bomb. The body of Levonian was found "scattered in hundreds of pieces". The men were members of a group known as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
and planned the bombing as a political protest in retaliation for the genocide of the Armenians
in 1915 in Turkey
.
The 4 kg device severely damaged the five-storey building in which the consulate was one of several tenants, blasted a crater
in the reinforced concrete wall and caused an intense fireball to strike nearby buildings, damaging about 20 buildings in the exclusive shopping and residential Toorak Road precinct of fashionable South Yarra. Within minutes of the bomb going off, police and emergency services were on the scene. They evacuated the area up to 100 meters from the bomb site, including elderly women from a war widows' home. Gas leaking from the consulate building was brought under control, and 70 firemen
tackled fires that had broken out in shops and offices. Police said a 22-year-old student who was studying on the third floor of the building when the bomb exploded escaped serious injury because she had drawn the heavy curtains, which protected her from the blast. She had only minor scratches, and was treated for shock by ambulance officers. Earlier that year the federal police had the consulate, on the first floor, under 24-hour surveillance
.
In a telephone call to the Agence France-Presse
news agency in Sydney, an unidentified and heavily accented caller warned of further violence after reading out a list of grievances against Turkey. "There will be more," he said. This was a second Armenian attack on Turkish diplomats and agencies in Australia. In 1980, in a local example of a much wider international campaign, two Turkish officials, the Turkish Consul-General in Sydney, Sarik Ariyak, and his 28-year-old bodyguard were gunned down by two people. The Justice Commandos for the Armenian Genocide claimed responsibility for it and despite a $250,000 reward offer by the Turkish Embassy, no charges have were laid and their assassins remain at large. Police said the attack was the result of a "long standing hatred against the Turkish people". In the 1970-1980s, Turkish diplomats were considered the second-greatest security risk worldwide, after Americans. Until 1986, 42 Turks lost their lives to terrorists.
In Canberra
, Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayden said the Government would review diplomatic security procedures following the bombing. He condemned the bombing "in the strongest possible terms", and said Australia's regret at the incident had been conveyed to the Turkish government. "Australia would not tolerate acts of terrorism
, wherever they occurred", he said. State Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mathews, said there was concern that Victoria had become part of the international terrorist circuit. A special task force of more than 20 police was set up to investigate the bombing.
at the restaurant where Demirian worked. The original of a copy of a receipt was found on part of the body of the man killed in the explosion.
The prosecutor Dickson told the jury the accused and his accomplice traveled from Sydney to plant the bomb. The bomb was intended to go off on Monday morning when people arrived for work, by which time the two men would be back in Sydney. Police believed many more would have died if the bomb, detonated at night, had gone off during the day, as intended.
Demirian fled back to Sydney with his wife and child the morning after and returned to a restaurant his family operated in Lane Cove.
Demirian admitted being in Melbourne at the time of the explosion and admitted purchasing the white Torana which was used to place the bomb under the consulate only hours before the blast.
The consulate bombing was not the first time Demirian had come to the attention of investigators.
In 1980 he was questioned over the assassination of Turkish consul-general Sarik Artyak and his bodyguard in Sydney. They died in a hail of machinegun bullets fired by the pillion passenger of a motorcycle.
On 27 November 1987 Demirian was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 25-year minimum, which under Victorian law, had to be served in full. The Supreme Court jury took five hours to find Demirian guilty on both the murder and conspiracy charges. Justice Kaye sentenced him to 10 years on the conspiracy charge and ordered it to be served concurrently with the life sentence for murder. He was refused bail because it was feared that Demirian, if granted bail, would leave the country. At the time of his arrest he was carrying an air ticket to Beirut.
Demerian then began a minimum 25-year sentence as the country's number-one high-risk security prisoner for masterminding Melbourne's 1986 Turkish Consulate car bombing. After the appeal to the Supreme Court
the murder conviction was overturned, and he served 10 years. Demirian's Australian citizenship allowed him to avoid banishment to his native Lebanon
when his prison sentence ended. He is living in Sydney.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Consulate in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria, Australia, on 23 November 1986. A car bomb exploded in the basement parking lot, killing Hagop Levonian, one of the bombers.
In 1986 the Turkish Consulate at 44 Caroline St, South Yarra, was devastated by a car bomb. The blast occurred at 2.16 a.m., Melbourne time. One man, Hagob Levonian, was killed in the blast which went off prematurely as he and an accomplice
Accomplice
At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and asks for the money is guilty of armed robbery...
, Levon Demirian, were setting the car bomb. The body of Levonian was found "scattered in hundreds of pieces". The men were members of a group known as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
and planned the bombing as a political protest in retaliation for the genocide of the Armenians
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
in 1915 in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The 4 kg device severely damaged the five-storey building in which the consulate was one of several tenants, blasted a crater
Explosion crater
An explosion crater is a characteristically shaped hole formed when material is ejected from the surface of the ground by an explosive event just above, at, or below the surface....
in the reinforced concrete wall and caused an intense fireball to strike nearby buildings, damaging about 20 buildings in the exclusive shopping and residential Toorak Road precinct of fashionable South Yarra. Within minutes of the bomb going off, police and emergency services were on the scene. They evacuated the area up to 100 meters from the bomb site, including elderly women from a war widows' home. Gas leaking from the consulate building was brought under control, and 70 firemen
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
tackled fires that had broken out in shops and offices. Police said a 22-year-old student who was studying on the third floor of the building when the bomb exploded escaped serious injury because she had drawn the heavy curtains, which protected her from the blast. She had only minor scratches, and was treated for shock by ambulance officers. Earlier that year the federal police had the consulate, on the first floor, under 24-hour surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
.
In a telephone call to the Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
news agency in Sydney, an unidentified and heavily accented caller warned of further violence after reading out a list of grievances against Turkey. "There will be more," he said. This was a second Armenian attack on Turkish diplomats and agencies in Australia. In 1980, in a local example of a much wider international campaign, two Turkish officials, the Turkish Consul-General in Sydney, Sarik Ariyak, and his 28-year-old bodyguard were gunned down by two people. The Justice Commandos for the Armenian Genocide claimed responsibility for it and despite a $250,000 reward offer by the Turkish Embassy, no charges have were laid and their assassins remain at large. Police said the attack was the result of a "long standing hatred against the Turkish people". In the 1970-1980s, Turkish diplomats were considered the second-greatest security risk worldwide, after Americans. Until 1986, 42 Turks lost their lives to terrorists.
In Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayden said the Government would review diplomatic security procedures following the bombing. He condemned the bombing "in the strongest possible terms", and said Australia's regret at the incident had been conveyed to the Turkish government. "Australia would not tolerate acts of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, wherever they occurred", he said. State Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mathews, said there was concern that Victoria had become part of the international terrorist circuit. A special task force of more than 20 police was set up to investigate the bombing.
Trial and sentence
Levon Demirian, an Armenian-Australian restaurateur of the Sydney suburb of Epping, was charged with murdering Hagob Levonian of the Sydney suburb of Willoughby. He was also charged with having conspired with Levonian to commit an illegal act which would have endangered the lives of others, intentionally and without lawful excuse having caused damage to a building and endangered lives of others, and by having used an explosive device unlawfully and maliciously destroyed a building, endangering the lives of others. When Demirian's home was searched, police found a notebook containing the names, addresses and movements of Turkish Embassy staff as well as books and diagrams on electronic devices and circuitry. Police alleged they also found 174 sticks of geligniteGelignite
Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre .It was invented in 1875 by Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented dynamite...
at the restaurant where Demirian worked. The original of a copy of a receipt was found on part of the body of the man killed in the explosion.
The prosecutor Dickson told the jury the accused and his accomplice traveled from Sydney to plant the bomb. The bomb was intended to go off on Monday morning when people arrived for work, by which time the two men would be back in Sydney. Police believed many more would have died if the bomb, detonated at night, had gone off during the day, as intended.
Demirian fled back to Sydney with his wife and child the morning after and returned to a restaurant his family operated in Lane Cove.
Demirian admitted being in Melbourne at the time of the explosion and admitted purchasing the white Torana which was used to place the bomb under the consulate only hours before the blast.
The consulate bombing was not the first time Demirian had come to the attention of investigators.
In 1980 he was questioned over the assassination of Turkish consul-general Sarik Artyak and his bodyguard in Sydney. They died in a hail of machinegun bullets fired by the pillion passenger of a motorcycle.
On 27 November 1987 Demirian was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 25-year minimum, which under Victorian law, had to be served in full. The Supreme Court jury took five hours to find Demirian guilty on both the murder and conspiracy charges. Justice Kaye sentenced him to 10 years on the conspiracy charge and ordered it to be served concurrently with the life sentence for murder. He was refused bail because it was feared that Demirian, if granted bail, would leave the country. At the time of his arrest he was carrying an air ticket to Beirut.
Demerian then began a minimum 25-year sentence as the country's number-one high-risk security prisoner for masterminding Melbourne's 1986 Turkish Consulate car bombing. After the appeal to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
the murder conviction was overturned, and he served 10 years. Demirian's Australian citizenship allowed him to avoid banishment to his native Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
when his prison sentence ended. He is living in Sydney.