On 13 June 1920, Avni Rustemi shot Essad Pasha Toptani to death outside the Hotel Continental on Castiglione Street in Paris, while Essad was dining with his nephew Xhemil bej Vlora [sq] and his mistress Eliza.[1][2][3]
Rustemi had been hiding behind one of the columns at the hotel entrance, waiting for Essad Pasha. Approaching from behind, he fired with a Smith & Wesson revolver. The first bullet struck Essad in the neck near the spinal column, and as he turned with his hands raised to protect himself, Rustemi fired again, hitting the left side of his chest at armpit level. Essad, long considered an unscrupulous opportunist and a collaborator with the Serbians and Montenegrins during the Balkan Wars, had many political enemies in Albania.[3]
Rustemi was immediately arrested by the French police, and the assassination quickly attracted the attention of the European press. After a long trial, he was acquitted on 20 December 1920, when his lawyer Anatole de Monzie argued that the act was not merely a personal crime but one committed “with the premeditation of an entire people.”[3][1] According to historian Kastriot Dervishi, the assassination was instigated by Essad’s cousin and rival Aqif Pasha Elbasani, with financial backing provided by the High Council of Regency.[4]
