Author: Ismail Veli

The events surrounding the murder of Papa Charalambous Michaelides 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 not only centres around who killed Papa Charalambous Michaelides and the reason, but how two innocent victims of this tragic event were hanged as scapegoats. 

Mustafa and Yusuf were evidentially two young men who were mentally immature and simple persons who were framed for the simple reason that the perpetrators believed that the British authorities would not believe the two young men were capable of the murder due to their simple nature. 

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

The chief witness for the prosecution, Osman Hasan 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] He stated that his initial thoughts were that it was just a joke but persistence of the 2 brothers and their threatening attitude made him nervous and he decided to go along to the priests summer room and garden which was near the half way house. Despite the witness statement, from outside point of view, it appears strange 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 Priests house they found him to be asleep with his bed up against the garden wall. [3] It was around 21:00-22:00 and Osman went on to explain that Mustafa picked up an axe and Yusuf a club. Seeing this made him strikingly aware of the reality of the situation and he made it clear of no participation. 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]

The Chief Medical examiner Robert William Clark confirmed the manner of the killing in his forensic examination. For the 2 brothers worse was to come with the testimony of their sister Dudu (Doudou in the transcript) who acted as a witness for the prosecution for which this ended with devastating consequences for the brothers. Her testimony can just about be understood on Document number 40 and 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]

Another strange and contradictory twist to Osman Garaoli’s incriminating eye witness statements 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] Apparently they refused, not knowing that Osman had already accused the two brothers of the crime, (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 than the two simple brothers who they truly believed wouldn’t do such a crime. They even go as far as to claim that the blood was put on their shirts and was made to confess making them believe that they would not be hanged. From today’s perspective all the speculation is hearsay and 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 only carry the weight of 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 it is quite possible a unfair trial was most likely held in such a short period of time. Additionally, with the statement given by Mustafa Bairam at the trial (page 110 parts 1 and 2 on 7 November 1924), massive pressure was brought to bear on a young and simple person to admit to the murder in order to save his life. Many argue that it is ludicrous to make a confession if innocent but if Yusuf claimed that they were pressured by the police to confess or blame Osman Garaoli or if they did not confess, then they would be hung. 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, [7] 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 worked against them. One example on how the authorities can get it terribly wrong was the murder of Beryl Evans and her baby Geraldine which ended with the hanging of Timothy Evans who was the husband and father of the child, despite the actual murder carried out by John Reginald Christie in 1949. Timothy Evans confessed to the murder of his child only to subsequently deny and admit he was in shock, and did not know what he was saying. [8] 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. [9] Timothy was also a very simple man who often spun pub tales which were not often true and the propensity to make up stories worked against him in court as being a liar therefore sealing his death sentence.

Circling back to the two brothers, who the whole village believed 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 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 a tense situation in the village. Whatever the reason is, is it clear the hangings of Yusuf and Mustafa that took place 90 years ago and the speculation surrounding it will continute in the future. It’s unlikely we shall ever know the truth about the tragic events of 24th September 1924. 

References

[1] 1.S.M.3 page 110 parts 1 and 2. 07.11.1924

[2] Page 2-3 of the court records

[3] Page 3 of the court records

[4] Doc 0 8-09; pages 2-5

[5] Doc 041-042; pages 62-64 of the court records

[6] Page 110 parts 1 and 2 of the court records

[7] Page 110parts 1 and 2 of the court records

[8] 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 Cristie subsequently admitted to the killing, and was also hanged.

[9] An official inquiry concluded in 1966 that Christie had also murdered Evans’s daughter, and Evans was granted a posthumous pardon

This page is dedicated to the World War 2 Lurucina veterans who volunteered  to serve in the Cyprus Regiment and Cyprus Volunteer Force. Though 42 men from Lurucina were registered as part of the 19,829 Cypriots who fought for the British and other Commonwealth nations in the World War against Nazism, there were in fact another 2 namely, Seyit Ali Mehmet Ramadan and Hasan Mehmet Ramadan. Brothers of the Martyr Corporal Hussein Mehmet Ramadan serial number CY1217 (twin brother of Hasan) on the list who sadly lost his life and was buried at the Ancona war cemetery where he still lies. May they all rest in peace.

The information compiled and published by Petros Papapolyviou (an accomplished academic and historian at the University of Cyprus in Nicosia), has written a number of works on the service of Cypriots in many wars. With 870 pages, this includes their army serial, date of enlistment etc and is a must for anyone interested in this field of research. The book is written in Greek but thanks to Anthony Georgiou, a translation was obtained.

Τhe book is known as “Οι Κύπριοι εθελοντές του Β’ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου: τα μητρώα, οι κατάλογοι και οφόρος του αίματος” Publisher: Πολιτιστικές Υπηρεσίες του Υπουργείου Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. Author: Πέτρος Παπαπολυβίου. ΙSBN:In English, the book details are: “The Cypriot Volunteers of the 2nd World War: the registers, catalogues and blood sacrifice”, publisher: Cypriot Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Author: Petros Polyviou.

I invite you to browse through and look at the group of photos provided by family members and more.

The legend and origins of the village of Lurucina is clouded in myths, stories and mystery. The most enduring myth of Lurucina is the fabled beauty Lorenzia – the origins of Lurucina are reputed to have been found by a Latin shepherd maiden during the Lusignan period, possibly in the 12 or the 13th century. Her name reputedly was Lorenzia and she used the stream or wells running in the village to water her sheep and goats (nowadays adjacent to the mosque) and eventually she built her home there. She had such beauty and elegance and charisma that people flocked to join her in making a home next to her. With a ready supply of fresh water and a lovely backdrop of hills, the fertile valley also became a small farming community. People would simply refer to the area as ”Lorenzia’s place and eventually a village was established.  

Perhaps one of the most interesting names of the surrounding hills is “Shistra tou Thragu”, “Dev Yırtığı” in Turkish, which literally means “the den of the Dragon (or Giant)”. The story goes that a long time ago (unspecified time in history) a giant or a very large strong man lived between the crevices of that hill. He was a constant menace to the local people and very often would come down to the local settlements to harass and rob the people of food etc. Due to the lack of authority this went on for some considerable time.

The local people would pray to God in order to save them from this monster of a man and one day the weather was very bad. Rain, thunder and lightning was striking the hills at an alarming rate and once the weather improved the locals noticed that the giant had not been seen for a while. They soon wondered what happened, so a group decided to investigate. They eventually found the Giant dead between the crevices and their conclusion was that God had answered their prayers and struck the giant with lightning and tore the hillside apart forming a small canyon/crevice which then became “Shistra tou Thragu”.

The myths are based on old-time legends and not historical facts. The names of hills and fields no doubt have their origin in events, people, owners or peculiar shapes etc but this is not unique to our village. Although we know of roads and fields, we rarely ask ourselves of its origins. Luricina cannot be an exception – lets take some examples from other parts of the world and compare them to what we have in the village. Paris was named after an ancient tribe of Gauls the “Parisii”, Venice after the “Veneto”, Galatya in Turkey after the Gauls who settled there in ancient times, and more recently America the Continent after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci. This only firms the belief that places like Laxia du Kapitanou, (field of the captain) Pallourogambos, thorny field) Alubo-lakos (fox pool) were named for a purpose. In more recent times “Gugo du bodiri” (shelter built with canes to protect from the sun) and of course the areas of the village like Muhtarlar, Muski, Gurello mahallesi are named after families. 

Lakabs/nicknames were a common feature of Cypriot life. Lurucina however seemed to be at the forefront of this tradition and between the period of the late 1700s to the 1970s, the population experienced a large growth of this culture. Some of the nicknames/lakabs were given as a result of peoples trade, habits, peculiarities or just inherited from their families. According to old timers some had meanings whilst others were just corrupt versions of their real names. For example if a name was Mehmet then the nickname of Bedi, Mehmetça or Mehemmeçça would evolve. Seyit-Ali would be called ‘Seido’. Some of the oldest lakabs of the village like Zabuni, Kavukko, Yeromero, Hrisafi, Kazmalevri, Treboyadi, Siliono and Tahura were either replaced by new lakabs or in the case of Kulaklı may have changed to a Greek version of Fgâga. Many old lakabs used Sari instead of Aspri to reflect a person’s fair complexion.

The story of how the lakab ‘Gatto’ (Cat) came about is one of interest – as the family were originally known as ‘Buttari’. According to old-timers Osman Yusuf was hiding in the bushes while the police were looking for him. It may have been at dusk, as there was still some light, but one of the police noticed something shining through the bushes, it turned out that Yusuf Osman ‘Buttari’s’ eyes were glittering in the dark. As a result, word spread of “Da ammagya du yallizzan sandon Gatto” (His eyes were shining like those of the cat) and the name stuck. Consequently, the whole family were known as Gatto’s. 

In all, there were over 400 lakabs during this period and it has left a legacy of a unique culture and shaped the character of the people of Lurucina like few villages in Cyprus. The multi-lingual nicknames ranging from Latin, Greek and Turkish have played an important part of Lurucina’s local way of life. One thing important to know is that some surnames today are modernised versions of these lakabs/Nicknames. v