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Revision as of 16:31, 17 July 2010
The "Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian" was a sensationalized trial of Soghomon Tehlirian for the assassination of the former Grand Vizier Talat Pasha. The assassination was carried out in the Charlottenburg District of Berlin, Germany in broad daylight and in the presence of many witnesses on March 15, 1921.
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Defense
Tehlirian was defended by three defence attorneys, including Dr. Kurt Niemeyer, professor of Law at Cologne University.
The defense attorneys made no attempt to deny the fact that Tehlirian had killed a man. They focused on the influence of the Armenian Genocide on Tehlirian's mental state. It took the jury slightly over an hour to render a verdict of "not guilty" on grounds of temporary insanity. Tehlirian was tried and acquitted of all charges by the German court.
The trial examined not only Tehlirian’s actions but also Tehlirian's conviction that Talat Pasha was the main author of the Armenian Genocide.
Significance
The trial was an important influence on Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin, who found it interesting that while Tehlirian was being tried for killing one man, someone who killed more than a million men could not be brought to justice under the international law of the time.
Art
The French film "Mayrig" (1992, dir. Henri Verneuil) depicts Tehlirian (actor Denis Podalydès) and some events related to his trial.
The Turkish film Blood on the Wall is a highly fictional depiction of the Tehlirian's trial.
Notes
- "Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian—First Afternoon". Armeniapedia. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
- Peter, Balakian (2004). The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: Perennial. pp. 344–345.
Albeit on grounds of temporary insanity due to the traumatic experience he had gone through during the Genocide
- Power, Samantha (2003). A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. Harper Perennial. p. 17.
While Tehlirian awaited trial in Berlin, Raphael Lemkin, a twenty-one- year-old Polish Jew studying linguistics at the University of Lvov, came upon a short news item on Talaat's assassination in the local paper. Lemkin was intrigued and brought the case to the attention of one of his professors. Lemkin asked why the Armenians did not have Talaat arrested for the massacre. The professor said there was no law under which he could be arrested... "It is a crime for Tehlirian to kill a man, but it is not a crime for his oppressor to kill more than a million men?" Lemkin asked. "This is most inconsistent."
References
- Soghomon Tʻēhlirean, 2006, "The Case of Soghomon Tehlirian", by Center for Armenian Remembrance ISBN 0977715310