- Soghomon Tehlirian
Soghomon Tehlirian ( _hy. Սողոմոն Թեհլերյան) (
April 2 ,1897 –May 23 ,1960 ) was a native ofErzincan , an Armenian Evangelical (Protestant) andArmenian Genocide survivor. He assassinated the former Grand VizirTalat Pasha in theCharlottenburg District ofBerlin ,Germany in broad daylight and in the presence of many witnesses onMarch 15 ,1921 as an act of vengeance for his role in orchestrating the Armenian Genocide. This assassination was a part of the Dashnak Party'sOperation Nemesis , in which he played a big role. He was part of the Dashnak organization inArmenia .Trial
Tehlirian was tried for murder, but was eventually acquitted by the German court. The trial of Tehlirian was a rather sensationalized event at the time, with Tehlirian being defended by three defense attorneys, including Dr. Kurt Niemeyer, professor of Law at
Cologne University .The trial examined not only Tehlirian’s actions but also Tehlirian's conviction that
Talat Pasha was the main author of the Armenian Genocide. The defense attorneys made no attempt to deny the fact that Tehlirian had killed a man, and instead 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 oftemporary insanity .The trial was an important influence on Polish lawyer
Raphael Lemkin , who found it interesting it was a crime to kill a man but not an entire people.Film adaptation
Tehlirian's trial was adapted in the Turkish film "Blood on the Wall" although it greatly differed and presents a fictional account of the actual trial. Near the end of the movie, Tehlirian is shown confessing, prior to moment the jury is sent to deliberate the case, before the court that he had killed an innocent man, that is, Talat. After he breaks down in tears, the film shows his mother, who is shown to have survived the Genocide, walking across the courtroom and comforting him.
Further reading
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External links
* [http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Trial_of_Soghoman_Tehlirian Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian]
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