On April 2, 120th anniversary of Tehlirian’s birth, representatives of the Armenian community will gather on Hardenbergstraße in Berlin, the site where Talaat was assassinated, to hold an event in memory of Tehlirian, asbarez.com reports.
Tehlirian shadowed Talaat as he left his house on Hardenbergstraße on the morning of March 15, 1921. He crossed the street to view him from the opposite sidewalk, then crossed it once more to walk past him to confirm his identity. He then turned around and pointed his gun to shoot him in the nape of the neck.
Talaat was felled with a single 9mm parabellum round from a Luger P08 pistol. The assassination took place in broad daylight and led to Tehlirian’s immediate arrest by German police.
I have killed a man. But I am not a murderer
Tehliryan was born in the village of Bagarij, in Kamakh, Erznka. After the genocide, during which his mother and other family members were killed, Tehliryan enlisted in the Nemesis operation. After killing Talât67 he was arrested, but on June 3, 1921, he was freed from the court room, where Johannes Lepsius testified in his defence.
Presiding Justice – Why don’t you consider yourself guilty?
Defendant – I do not consider myself guilty because my conscience is clear.
Presiding Justice – Why is your conscience clear?
Defendant – I have killed a man. But I am not a murderer.
Presiding Justice – Did you want to kill Talât Pasha?
Defendant – I do not understand this question. I have already killed him.
Presiding Justice – What I want to say is, did you have a plan to kill him?
Defendant – I did not have any plan.
Presiding Justice – When did the idea first occur to you to kill Talât?
Defendant – Approximately two weeks before the incident. I was feeling very bad. I kept seeing the scenes of the massacres over and over again. I saw my mother’s corpse. The corpse stood up before me and told me, “You know Talât is here, and yet you do not seem to be concerned? You are no longer my son”.
Presiding Justice – So what did you do?
Defendant – I woke up all of a sudden and decided to kill that man.
The Verdict
After an hour’s deliberation, the members of the jury returned and the foreman of the jury declared:
“I avow with honour and clear conscience to the verdict of the jury.”
“Is the defendant, Soghomon Tehliryan, guilty of having intentionally killed a man, Talât Pasha, on March 15, 1921, in Charlottenburg?”
“NO.”
Presiding Justice – I now sign the verdict and I ask the clerk to do the same and read the verdict out loud. The following sentence is issued. ‘The defendant is acquitted at the expense of the state treasury. In accordance with the decision of the jury, the defendant is not guilty of the punishable act with which he has been charged.’
Then the following decision was announced.
“The order of imprisonment as regards the defendant is hereby annulled.”
Thus, after a two-day trial, Tehlirian was found not guilty by the German court, and freed. He eventually moved to the United States and lived out his years in San Francisco.
