Şarık Arıyak

Şarık Arıyak was born on 3 March 1930 in İstanbul, Turkey. After finishing Sivas High School and Faculty of Political Science of Ankara University he traveled to Switzerland for further studies at the University of Lausanne. He served in the Ministry of Finance and then he transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1959. In 1969, he married to Demet Gülöz. During his youth he played football in Gençlerbirliği S.K.. He was also a 400 metres track runner.[1]

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he served in the NATO department. Later he served in the embassies in Roma and Seoul. Next he was appointed as the chief secretary of Paris embassy. In 1975 he returned home to serve in the Culture department of the ministry. On 30 November 1978 he was appointed as the consul general in Sydney.[1]

On 17 December 1980 at 9:45am local time, Arıyak was assassinated by two unknown men in Portland Street, Dover Heights, while he was about to leave his home for his office.[2] The men first shot his bodyguard, Engin Sever, and then shot Arıyak. Arıyak died on the scene and Sever died soon after at a hospital. A secret organization, the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide, claimed responsibility for the assassination via telephone messages.[2] Arıyak was survived by his wife and his 8-year-old daughter, who both were the witnesses to the assassination.[3]

The killers were not apprehended. On 17 December 2019, it was announced that New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team established Strike Force Esslemont to re-investigate the murders. The reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction was increased from $250,000 to $1 million, which is the first ever million-dollar reward offered in Australia for an act of terrorism.[4]

A street in İstanbul was named after Şarık Arıyak.[5]

• Melbourne Turkish consulate bombing
• List of Turkish diplomats assassinated by Armenian militant organisations