Gourgen Mkrtich Yanikian or in Western Armenian Kourken Mgrditch Yanigian ( , December 24 , 1895 – February 27 , 1984 ) was an Armenian American engineer , Armenian Genocide survivor , best known for the assassination of two Turkish consular officials , Los Angeles Consul General Mehmet Baydar and Consul Bahadır Demir , in California in 1973 . Sentenced to life imprisonment , Yanikian was released on parole in January 1984 . It is widely believed that Yanikian 's act was the inspiration for the founding of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia , the Armenian militant organization of the 1970s and 1980s which staged attacks on Turkish diplomats in retaliation for the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Gourgen Yanikian