On June 15 , 1915 , The Twenty Martyrs from Hunchakian leaders , after spending two years in terrible conditions in Ottoman prisons , and undergoing lengthy mock trials , twenty prominent figures - Paramaz , Dr. Benne , Aram Ach ' ekbashian , Vanig and others were sentenced to death by hanging . All twenty men were hanged in the central square of Constantinople , known as Sultan Bayazid Square . Paramaz 's last words before his hanging were : In July 1915 , Khetcho ( Catchik ) , Karekin Pastermadjian 's assistant and commander , died on the shores of Lake Van The biggest achievement of the first year was the Armenian governing of the Administration for Western Armenia , ( Republic of Van ) with Aram Manukian as the head . The Republic of Van was a temporary Armenian provisional government between 1915 and 1918 . It was also briefly referred as Free Vaspurakan
The Twenty Martyrs
The 20 Hunchakian gallows
Armenian national liberation movement