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{{Armenian Genocide}}
'''Turkish Court  s-Martials of 1919-1920''' were [[court  s-martial]]s of the [[Ottoman Empire]] after the [[armistice of Mudros]] during the  [[Aftermath of World War I|aftermath]] the [[World War One]], which the leadership of the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] and selected former officials were court-martialled with/including the charges of [[Subversion (politics)|subversion]] of the constitution, wartime [[profiteering]], and the massacres of both [[Pontic Greek Genocide|Greeks]] and [[Armenian Genocide|Armenians]]<ref>Taner Akçam, Armenien und der Völkermord: Die Istanbuler Prozesse und die Türkische Nationalbewegung (Hamburg: Hamburger Edition, 1996), p. 185.</ref>. Most of the Turkish court  s-martials were dismissed and the serious ones were relocated to the "International Court-Martial in Malta" rather than being held in a Turkish court whose "findings cannot be held of any account at all." ([[John de Robeck]], <ref>Public Record Office, Foreign Office, 371/4174/136069</ref>)

The court  s-martials were labelled "Turkish" because of their selective accusation of only the Turkish subjects of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. These court  s-martials became a stage for  political battles. The trials helped the [[Liberal Union (Ottoman Empire)]] root out the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] from the political arena<ref>Klaus-Detlev. Grothusen, "Türkei" page 35</ref>. During the second stage of the international trials, Ottoman politicians, generals, and intellectuals were relocated from Istanbul jails to "International trials in Malta" (cf. [[Malta exiles]]), where they were held for some three years while searches wer(contracted; show full)>Public Record Office, Foreign Office, 371/4172/28138</ref>. However, government and Sultan got the message. On [[February]] [[1919]], allies was informed that Ottoman Empire was in compliance with its full apparatus to the occupation forces. Any source of conflict (including Armenian questions) would be investigated by a commission which neutral Governments can attach two legal superintendents<ref>Public Record Office, Foreign Office, 371/4172/28138</ref>.  Calthorpe's correspond
aence to the [[British Foreign Office]] was "The action undertaken for the arrests was very satisfactory, and has, I think, intimidated the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] of Constantinople"<ref>Public Record Office, Foreign Office, 371/4172/23004</ref>.

==The trials==
{{Seealso|Court martial}}
===Establishment, April 28, 1919===
(contracted; show full)

===Structure===
===Legal Issues===
The tribunals were held under [[occupation]], thus the [[judge]]s were under the scrutiny of the occupying forces. [[Due process]] did not exist, and there were gross absen
sces of legal rights; defenders and lawyers feared for their life. The Ottoman penal code did not acknowledge the right of [[cross-examination]]. Some Western authors claimed that these were matters of local [[jurisprudence]] and the verdicts had to be trusted. However, the validity of the evidence presented in these testimonials has been questioned owing to a lack of defendant rights. Historians familiar with Ottoman jurisprudence do not hold the process of these trials in a positive light<ref>Yılmaz A(contracted; show full)rom September 27 to the end of October 1919, the issue of retribution against those responsible was on the agenda. A task force, led by [[Shahan Natalie]], working with [[Grigor Merjanov]], was established to assassinate [[Talaat Pasha]], [[Pipit Jivanshir Khan]], [[Said Halim Pasha]], [[Behaeddin Shakir|Behaeddin Shakir Bey]], [[Jemal Azmi]], [[Cemal Pasha]], [[Enver Pasha]], as well as several Armenian traitors.

==See also==
*[[Armenian Genocide]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Ottoman Empire]]