Trial of Soghomon Tehlirian

Date: June 3, 1921 • Location: Hansaviertel, Germany

At his trial for the assassination of Talaat Pasha, viewed as the main orchestrator of the Armenian genocide, Soghomon Tehlirian was acquitted after arguing: "I have killed a man, but I am not a murderer."

On 15 March 1921, Armenian student Soghomon Tehlirian killed Talaat Pasha—former grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire and the main architect of the Armenian genocide—in Berlin. At his trial, Tehlirian argued, "I have killed a man, but I am not a murderer"; the jury acquitted him.