Assassins of the Turquoise Palace
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Notable Book: “A rumination on the Islamic Republic’s culture of terror . . . [A] captivating narrative” (PBS).
On the evening of September 17, 1992, eight leading members of the Iranian and Kurdish opposition had gathered at a little-known restaurant in Berlin when two darkly-clad men burst through the entrance. Within moments, the roar of a machine gun filled the air. Two rounds of fire and four single shots later, four of the men were dead. One of the survivors of that shooting, along with the widow of one of the victims and a handful of reporters, attorneys, and fellow exiles, began a crusade that would not only pit them against Tehran but against some of the greatest powers in Germany. When an undeterred federal prosecutor and an endlessly patient chief judge took over the case, a historic verdict followed that shook both Europe and Iran, and achieved something few could have predicted—justice.
“This is a brilliant, riveting book, with all the elements of a great thriller—a horrific crime, sociopathic villains, international intrigue, personal betrayals, a noble prosecutor and an honorable judge. And it is all too real: with remarkably comprehensive reporting and brisk, smart writing, Roya Hakakian has told a great story but, more important, she has made plain the lethal immorality at the heart of Iran’s regime” —Joe Klein, Time
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hakakian's first book, Journey from the Land of No, told the author's story of her years growing up in Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini. Her present work is an admirable, if somewhat overwritten, look at the September 17, 1992, terror killing of four Kurdish exiles who were holding a meeting in a small restaurant in Berlin. This crime resulted in a massive German investigation and an equally massive four-year trial that ended with guilty verdicts for the accused and, more importantly, a condemnation of Iran's leaders as the instigators of the murder plot. The author does a worthy job of presenting the facts through the eyes of the men who survived the shooting and the German authorities who prosecuted the case. Though the focus on Middle East politics should give this broad appeal, readers most interested may be the two million Iranian expatriates and the 150,000 who reside in Germany. The real heroes are not just the Kurdish dissidents but the men and women of Germany's legal community who fought against powerful diplomatic pressure in the interest of justice.
