Michalis Karaolis ( el, Μιχαλάκης Καραολής; 13 February 1933 – 10 May 1956) was a Cypriot public official and

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

. Born in the village of

Palaichori Oreinis Palaichori Oreinis () is a village located in the Nicosia District of Cyprus on the E 903 road. The village stands at an altitude of 930 m. Palaichori Oreinis is separated by Palaichori Morphou Palaichori Morphou () is a village located in ...

of Pitsilia, Karaolis worked as a government clerk and a member of

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA; ; el, Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, lit=National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist paramilitary organisation that fought a cam ...

. He was the first to be

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

and

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

alongside Andreas Dimitriou on 10 May 1956. Michalakis Karaolis

Life and work

Michalis Karaolis was born on 13 February 1933 in

, Cyprus. He finished primary school in Palaichori and The English School in Nicosia. He worked as a tax clerk. During the 1955–59 national uprising against the British, many of APOEL's athletes and members of the club were active members of

(the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters). The most outstanding example being the club's track and field athlete Michalis Karaolis. Camus letter appeal

He was a member of

long before 1955 in group headed by Polycarpos Giorkatzis. On 28 August 1955 he carried out the public execution of P.C. Michael Poullis, a Cypriot

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, of the Special Branch who had been spying on the

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaori ...

groups of EOKA and interfering with their work. The assassination was carried out in broad daylight whilst P.C. Poullis was on duty at an

AKEL The Progressive Party of Working People ( el, Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού, ; abbr. , AKEL; tr, Emekçi Halkın İlerici Partisi) is a Marxist–LeninistHelena Smith, Cyprus gets ready for a communist 'takeove ...

meeting at the

Ledra Palace The Ledra Palace Hotel is located in central Nicosia, Cyprus, and until 1974 was one of the largest and most glamorous hotels of the capital. The hotel was designed by the German Jewish architect Benjamin Günsberg and was built between 1947 and ...

. Karaolis was captured on his way to meet Grigoris Afxentiou's guerillas in the Kyrenia mountains, following General George Grivas' orders. Field Marshal Harding chose to announce Karaolis' death sentence on 28 October, an important Greek national holiday marking the refusal of Greece to surrender to the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and that hugely inflamed public feeling. 201703Tassos Papadopoulos2HR

Execution

He was 23 years old when he was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for the murder of P.C. Poullis and buried in the

Imprisoned Graves The "Imprisoned Graves" are a set of graves in a small cemetery located in the Central Jail of Nicosia, where 13 EOKA fighters, during the 1955-1959 liberation struggle for the liberation of Cyprus from the United Kingdom, were interred. Nine of ...

in the

Central Jail of Nicosia The Central Jail of Nicosia is the only prison of the Republic of Cyprus. The unrecognized republic of Northern Cyprus also has its own prison. The Central Jail of Nicosia is run by the Cyprus Prisons Department. It is located west of the walled ...

. French philosopher and Nobel Prize winner

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

appealed to Queen Elizabeth for mercy.Demetra Demetriou The pleiade in Cyprus: French authors and the island of Aphrodite p.303
/ref> That letter was acquired by philanthropist and entrepreneur Nasos Ktorides and donated to the National Struggle Museum in Nicosia. The hangings were condemned internationally and caused serious demonstrations and unrest in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. The Athens police failed to suppress a huge demonstration and a riot developed in which 7 people were killed and 200 people were injured. The Mayor of Athens protested by taking a hammer to a commemorative marble plaque dedicated in honour of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip while a crowd cheered and applauded and there were many more similar scenes in Greece.Grivas (1964) p. 72

References

Sources

* The Memoirs of General Grivas, by General Grivas, edited by Charles Foley. Longman. London. 1964
CYPRUS: Deepening Tragedy
Time Magazine, Monday, 21 May 1956.
Demetra Demetriou The pleiade in Cyprus: French authors and the island of Aphrodite p.303 Remembering Karaolis - a historical document by Albert Camus, Financial mirror 28 March 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaolis, Michalis 1934 births 1956 deaths Cypriot poets Cypriot people of the EOKA Executed writers Executed Cypriot people People executed for murdering police officers People executed by British Cyprus by hanging People executed by the British military by hanging People convicted of murder by the British military Cypriot people convicted of murder People killed in the Cyprus Emergency 20th-century poets