Avni Rustemi was an Albanian patriot, militant, teacher, activist and member of the Albanian parliament. Rustemi was the leader of both democratic organisations "Atdheu" and "Bashkimi", and also a member of the democratic opposition in the Albanian National Assembly preceding the Revolution of June 1924. He is also known for having assassinated Essad Pasha Toptani.

Essad Toptani was an Albanian politician who served as prime minister of Albania from 1914 to 1916. He previously established the Republic of Central Albania based in Durrës. An Ottoman army officer, he served as the Albanian deputy in the Ottoman Parliament and later cooperated with the Balkan League after the Balkan Wars.