The investigating judge and the district attorney of Insbruck, who took part in the trial of Philip Halsman, Jewish youth of Riga who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on the charge of patricide, were suddenly retired from office.
Although the reasons for their retirement were given as private, it is believed that it has some connection with the criticism levelled against them following the trial.
Halsman was convicted on the testimony of a Tyrol peasant boy, of having caused the death of his father in a ravine in the Tyrol mountains where the father and son had gone for a vacation. Charges of anti-Semitism were made against some of the officials in the trial.
The resignation of both the judge and the district attorney is believed will bring about a favorable turn in Halsman’s fate. Efforts are being made to secure a re-trial for Halsman with a transfer of venue to Vienna.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
