Important Note: The page numbers on top and bottom of the documents are often different to each other, this is possibly from archive documentation. Often the page numbers cannot be seen but
for the sake of simplicity I have numbered and referenced my comments on the numbers originally written on top of each page.

The events surrounding the murder of Papa Charalambous Michelides and the hanging of Mustafa and Yusuf Bayram in 1924 had created controversy and debate like no other in the history of Lurucina. Even today 90 years after the event debate, speculation and opinions are exchanged on a constant basis. The debate is not so much about who killed Papa Charalambous Michelides, but how two innocent victims of this tragic event were hanged as scapegoats, hence the never ending debate.

Mustafa and Yusuf were by all accounts two young men who were mentally immature and simple persons who were framed for the simple reason that the perpetrators expected the British rulers to dismiss the notion that they were capable of murder. Some even argue why bring up something that happened in 1924? They say it simply attracts a negative feeling against the people of our village. This is a ludicrous line to take. Firstly no one alive today is responsible for what happened 90 years ago and neither is a murder event unique to one village. These things happen in many parts of the island even today, but to close our eyes to historical evidence or learning is simply to accept that we should all stifle our knowledge of our past. Subject matters should always be taken in the historical context of the prevailing conditions of each period.
We need to learn from it and move to other research matters, thereby expanding our knowledge of how and what happened at any given time. Admitting and discussing our past with honesty, rather than hiding it is the first prerequisite to a mature and tolerant society.

In the aftermath of the murder the 2 brothers were quickly arrested and held at Dali and Athienou local prisons for interrogation^[1]1.S.M.3 page 110 parts 1 and 2. 07.11.1924 after intensive pressure they allegedly confessed to the crime and the trial began as soon as possible.

The chief witness for the prosecution Osman Garaoli who claimed to be an eyewitness to the killing of the Priest was devastating and the return of a guilty verdict became a foregone conclusion. On the night of the murder Osman Garaoli claimed that the 2 brothers Mustafa and Yusuf went to his garden (in those days most farmers had a small bedroom to sleep in their fields during the summer period) and asked him to join them in killing Papa Charalambous.^[2]Page 2-3 of the court records He stated that his initial thoughts were that it was just a joke. The persistence of the 2 brothers and their threatening attitude made him nervous and he decided that he had to go along to the priests summer room and garden which was near the half way house, presumably due to its location between Lurucina and the main Nicosia/Larnaca road. It seems strange however that two cold blooded killers with such a plan would drag someone else to join against their will at the last minute. It’s very inconsistent with the vast majority of premeditated murders as it could impede their plans. When they arrived at the Priest house they found him to be asleep with his bed up against the garden wall.^[3]Page 3 of the court records It was around 9.00 to 10.00 P.M. Osman then went on to explain that Mustafa picked up an axe and Yusuf a club. on British justice seeing that Mustafa and Yusuf were really serious Osman became very frightened and refused to participate. Mustafa went to the priests bed side and bludgeoned him with a tremendous blow, with the defenceless priests sudden jerking movements Yusuf was called to hold the priest feet and rain in a few blows with his club. It was a most gruesome murder and the one and only witness Osman Hasan Garaoli gave the most vivid description of the murder possible.^[4]Doc 0 8-09; pages 2-5

The Chief Medical examiner Robert William Clark confirmed the manner of the killing in his forensic examination and for the 2 brothers worse was to come. The testimony of their sister Dudu (spelled Doudou in the transcript) of the two accused. Acting as a witness for the prosecution ended with devastating consequences for her brothers. Her testimony can just about be understood on Document number 40, page 2 of the website. In her statement she claimed that late on the evening of the 24th September 1924 her mother handed her Mustafa’s shirt which had blood on the sleeves. This together with the chief witness Osman Garaoli’s statement were powerful and the defence had little answer to these damaging statements.^[5]Doc 041-042; pages 62-64 of the court records

Another strange and contradictory twist to Osman Garaoli’s incriminating eye witness statements to the court, was that when Mustafa Bairam gave his own statement, he was asked by the police to admit that it was Osman who actually carried out the killing, and together with his brother the two against Osman would carry much more weight.^[6]Page 110 parts 1 and 2 of the court records Apparently they refused, not knowing that Osman had already accused the two brothers of the crime.^[7]page 110 parts 1 and 2. This can be seen on pages 16-27

Almost everyone in the village believed the murder was perpetrated by individuals much more aggressive then the two simple brothers whom everyone thought incapable of such a heinous crime. They even go as far as to claim that blood was put on their shirts and made to confess making them believe that they would not be hanged. From today’s perspective all the speculation is hearsay. Only dying confessions from any perpetrator giving vivid descriptions of the crime and an explanation on how they planned and set up the crime would really carry any weight on finding the truth. Short of that we can only speculate.

By today’s standards, however, the murder which took place on the 24 September 1924 ending with the hanging of the two brothers on 20 November 1924 seems incredibly short. So could a fair trial be prepared and end in such a short period of time? Judging by the statement given by Mustafa Bairam at the trial,^[8]page 110 parts 1 and 2 on 7 November 1924 it’s clear that massive pressure was brought to bear on a young immature and simple person to admit to the murder in order to save his life.

Many would argue that it’s inconceivable to make a confession if one is innocent. But is it really that simple? Yusuf claimed that they were pressured by the police to confess or blame Osman Garaoli, if they did not confess then they would be hanged. He admitted to the court that he was frightened so admitted thinking it would save his life but denied the actual murder in his court testimony,^[9]Page 110 parts 1 and 2 of the court records, pages 16-27. Admittedly the handwriting of the court usher is difficult to read, therefore making it hard to fully understand every word, but it’s clear from the defendants point of view that their mental disability and lack of sufficient intelligence to comprehend what they were really up against worked against them. One example on how the authorities can get it terribly wrong was the notorious murder of Beryl Evans and her baby Geraldine Evans by John Reginald Christie at 10 Rillington Place in 1949, and the miscarriage of justice which ended with the hanging of Timothy Evans who was the husband and father of the victims also confessed to the murder of his child only to subsequently deny and admit he was in shock and not knowing what he was saying.^[10]Wikipedia. Timothy Evans confessed that he killed his wife and threw her down the sewer on 30 November 1949. It turned out that he was in complete shock and did not know what he was saying. John … Continue reading This of course only came to light after he was hanged. The capture of John Reginald Christie the real murderer and his confession with all the other evidence including other bodies of his victims forced the British home office and police to admit that Timothy Evans was innocent prompted them to grant a posthumous pardon.^[11]An official inquiry concluded in 1966 that Christie had also murdered Evans’s daughter, and Evans was granted a posthumous pardon Timothy was also a very simple man who often spun pub tales which were not often the truth. The propensity to make up stories worked against him in court as being a liar and it sealed his death sentence.

The whole village believed that the two brothers were totally innocent. In spite of the passage of time, many questions still remain unanswered. Did the British authorities find it easier to speed up the court case and just hang two innocents in order to look like justice had been served? Why was the trial so rushed? Why did the authorities not investigate the matter more thoroughly? The hanging of Yusuf and Mustafa seemed to them a much easier option of appearing to do justice rather than investigating the murder much more thoroughly. It’s clear that the priests massive attempts to convert as many Turkish villagers to the Orthodox faith possibly cost him his life. Equally the British authorities were eager to wrap up the case as quickly as possible in order to calm what was obviously a tense situation in the village. Whatever the reason, there is little doubt that this controversy is set to continue.

Whether they were innocent or guilty is not something I’m in a position to know much less speculate. The court witnesses and forensic evidence was overwhelming against them. All I can do is present the original documents as a matter of historical evidence and interest. The conditions prevailing in Cyprus in the 1920’s was nowhere near the world we live in today. Corruption, cronyism, manipulation of illiterate people by the ruling class was at a very high level, therefore speculating can only be done from a basis of historical interest rather than any new concrete evidence which is not available.

Many in Lurucina may point out that Papa Charalambous Michelides attempts to convert the Muslim population to Christianity had to be stopped, or else the pursuit of the priests aims would cause the families of this village to rupture and bring division and help destroy the Turkish families unity. The Enosis Plebiscite (Union with Greece) In Lurucina on 25 March 1921. Recorded in the “Biblion du phsithisman 25 March 1921” obviously encouraged Papa Charalambous Michelides to pursue his energetic efforts to convert the Turkish people of the village to the Greek Orthodox Church. This may have been the main contributor which cost him his life and helped set the stage for the never ending debate that continues to this day. The mentality and circumstances prevailing in 1924 may be different to today, but a brutal murder cannot be justified under any circumstances. If we truly believe in ourselves and have pride in our roots, then no amount of indoctrination or pressure from an individual priest can change our cultural & ethnic identity. The persons who perpetrated the murders (regardless of who and why) cannot, and should not be representative of the vast majority of our village who have proudly carried our historic and cultural heritage to the four corners of the world.

The hangings of Yusuf and Mustafa may have taken place 90 years ago but the debate is certain to continue into the future. It’s unlikely we shall ever know the truth about the tragic events of 24th September 1924. The only thing that is certain is that the ghosts of Papa Charalambous Michelides, Yusuf and Mustafa Bairam will I fear continue to haunt the people of Lurucina for all eternity.

It was on a Tuesday morning when Mustafa and Yusuf were to be hanged. An emotional wake up call by one of the brothers has been recalled by some older people. Whether it was one of the brothers that recited the ‘Chatista’ (Mani/poem) or whether it was another member of the village after their death is open to question, but for those who understand Greek the following last wake up call to his brother is enough to soften the hardest hearts:

Eshi enan astron diz borniz, gondaston bos-beridin,
ksipna aerthimmu Batta, je ksimeroni dridi.

Luricina papazını öldürdükleri sebeple Mustafa ve Yusuf Bayram isimli kardeşlerin idamının 9 aralıkta gerçekleştirileceği kararının verildiğine dair.

Hakikat gazetesi 24 kasım 1924 tarihli.

the report states that the sentence will be carried out on 9 December. It actually took place on November. A document from the High Commissioner dated between 20-24 November (the print is a bit jaded so hard to read) was sent to the British Government confirming the hanging.
See below for the official sentence and the letter confirming the sentence being carried out.

The Enosis Plebiscite in Lurucina on 25 March 1921[1] created a lot of tension in the village. Papa Charalambous Michelides signature as head of the Lurucina Church can be seen on the left below the name of the village. The advances made by the Greek army in Turkey between 1919-1921 created an atmosphere of confidence that a Christianisation policy by the priest would be successful. Sadly this finally led to his murder and subsequently the hanging of the two brothers Moustafa Bairam Pattas and Yousouf Bairam Pou

[1] Biblion du phsithisman 1921 by the Cyprus information office.
Kindly shared by Andreas Menelaos

The hanging as shown in the above document was confirmed on the 20th November 1924

From. Akıncılar (Lurucina) Türkleri’nin Yüzyıllık Varoluş Mücadelesi. Sayfa 44. by Hasan Yücelen

The death sentence was given on 17 November 1924.

Akincilar (Lurucina) Türkleri’nin Yüzyllk Varolu Mücadelesi. Sayfa 44.
by Hasan Yücelen

The documents of the court case were collected from the National archives by Mustafa Izzet a relative of Mustafa and Yusuf Bairam. Mustafa bey asked me to decipher the writing, in return he has given his kind permission to share these valuable historic archives on this website for the benefit of our village folk, and anyone interested in the history of our village.
Note;

This page lists the witness for the prosecution. Please note that the sister of the 2 accused brothers, Doudou (Dudu) Bairam is on the list Numbered 3. It seems she was called as a witness for the prosecution. Her testimony is on pages numbered 147-148.

1. Moustafa Bairam Pattas
2. Yousouf Bairam Pourounti of Lourijina
Sentenced to death by the Nicosia
Assizes on the 7th Nov 1924

The following documents are originals handwritten from the court case. The handwriting was extremely difficult and painstaking to decipher. Apologies in advance for any errors made by me during the translation. I hope my own handwriting (in red) can be read.

Page 2 Page 3

Page 4 Page 5

Page 6 Page 7

Page 8 Page 9

This page is part of the Forensic evidence given by Robert William Clark

Page 10 Page 11

This page continues with the Forensic evidence given by Robert William Clark

Page 12 Page 13

A graphic description of the wounds with the Forensic evidence by Robert William Clark.

Page 14 Page 15

Page 16 Page 17

The witness Osman Hasan Garaoli who gave evidence that Mustafa and Yusuf persuaded him to go along with them to kill the priest. He claims he was frightened but did not really believe they would do it. His statement is that he was a witness but took no part in the killing
his testimony continues on the next page

Page 18 Page 19

Page 20

Page 21

Page 22 Page 23

Page 24 Page 25

Page 26 Page 27

Page 28 Page 29

Page 30 Page 31

Page 32 Page 33

Page 34 Page 35

Page 36 Page 37

Page 38 Page 39

Page 40

Page 41

Page 42 Page 43

Page 44 Page 45

Page 46 Page 47

Page 48 Page 49

Page 50 Page 51

Page 52 Page 53

Page 54 Page 55

Page 56 Page 57

Page 58 Page 59

Page 60

Page 61

Pages 62-63 below (147 and 148) of the court records deal with the statement of Mustafa’s and Yusuf’s sister Dudu Bairam. Sadly many of the words are hard to read but it seems that her forced testimony was incriminating and damaging to her brothers. The decision to force Dudu Bairam to act as a witness for the prosecution may have been a deciding factor in the jury returning a verdict of guilty on her brothers. The result was that she was, for all intents and purposes condemned to a life of immense shame and guilt to which she had to carry the burden to her grave.

page 110 records the circumstances surrounding the arrest and questioning of Mustafa Bairam. The police attempts to force Mustafa to admit to his brothers guilt in order to save his own life is very obvious. Massive pressure was brought to bear on Mustafa. Lets not forget that for a simple illiterate person with mental immaturity, the offer of a confession in return for his life gave him little option but to admit to a crime he may or may not have committed. In affect he was manipulated to tie the noose around his own neck.

In spite of the massive difficulty of deciphering the hand writing I’m pretty confident that enough has been deciphered to understand the meaning of Dudu’s testimony.

Page 62 Page 63

This and the next Doc’s; is the evidence of the 2 accused brothers own sister. It turned out to be devastating for her brothers and no doubt her testimony must have haunted her for the rest of her life.

Page 64 Page 65

Page 66 Page 67

Page 68 Page 69

Page 70 Page 71

Page 72 Page 73

Page 74 Page 75

Page 76 Page 77

Page 78 Page 79

Page 80

Page 81

Page 82 Page 83

Page 84 Page 85

Page 86 Page 87

Page 88 Page 89

Page 90 Page 91

Page 92 Page 93

Page 94 Page 95

Page 96 Page 97

Page 98 Page 99

Page 100

Page 101

Page 102 Page 103

Page 104 Page 105

Page 106 Page 107

Page 108 Page 109

Page 110
The mprtnat document above has been typed for easier reading.

Nicosia Assize, Louroujina murder case sxh I.S.M.3 7.11.24
Mustafa Bairam Pattas duly cautioned in law 1 of 1886 of order in Council 1882 States- I want to say that the statement I made against Osman we were threatened by the Zaptiehs that I we don’t give evidence against Osman we should be hanged that we should suffer they said”tell against Osman- you are …? speak against Osman” “the two of you will make Osman to fall down because you are the two. And you say against him because he has said against you they have released him. You say against him we shall catch him and release you “they had captured us for 22 days-they used to come day & night and they used to ask us me speak against Osman “we shall release you then shall catch him who is the cause”
We got paid and at once we paid 20 but it is not true. At the moment when the head Commandant took us to the spot …? ….? those places he told us we were the people who commited the crime

Page 110 part 2

Page 111

Page 112 Page 113

Page 114

More archive information has been found, it will never change what happened but reading the letter written to the High Commissioner of Cyprus and the trial testimony one cannot get the feeling that something was definitely wrong. No doubt the appeal by the parents of the accused can be seen as a last attempt by desperate parents to save the lives of their son’s, but on closer inspection there really was something wrong with the courts decision to hang 2 possible innocents who by all accounts were simple and unable to defend themselves against all the odds.

Chief Secretarys office 18 March 1883 Commissioner Service His Excellency is pleased to direct that in all case where you pay any wages or Greek schoolmasters you should, before certifying that the teacher is actually performing his duties in the village to which he has been appointed. By Order ???