ENVER'S VICTIM.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 699, 8 May 1916, Page 11

ENVER'S VICTIM.

HOW PRINCE YUSSUF WAS MURDERED. WAYLAID IN PALACE AND STABBED. A letter from a neutral resident of i Constantinople, which was shown !me to-day (writes M. 11. Donohoe from Alliens under dale February j I<>), contains some interesting de- ; tails concerning the death of the Turkish Crown Prince, Yussuf Izze- : din. I There is little doubt but thai he 1 was assassinated al the instigation of 1 Enver Pasha "and his fellow Young 1 Turks. * : j The Prince was found in his palace lying in the corridor between j the harem and the bathrooms. A vein was opened in the left arm, and ; Ihe was allowed to bleed to death, i The body was covered with bruises,' and everything pointed to his hav-! ing desperately struggled for life. He appears to have been waylaid | and surprised in the corridor. His j cries for assistance were heard by the harem inmates, and also by the j palace domestics, but none offered lo render him any help. I ■ When overcome by his assassins he was thrown down and bound and gagged with a handkerchief. Several slashes were made in his arm before the murderers succeeded in their i enterprise. FatalForgetf ulness. : The Prince, aware that his life j I was in danger, had promised to take j j precautions, but the plans of the as-! i sassins were well laid. He went i about usually armed, and always had j a revolver in his sleeping apart- j ment. Unfortunately he failed to take' this weapon when traversing the ■ corridor to the bath room, and so found himself at a complete disadvantage. The letter also says that passersby outside the palace enclosure heard the Prince's piteous shouts for aid. These cries suddenly ceased, and the marks on his throat show that the assailants half- ! strangled him in their attempt either to stifle his cries or in the process of gagging their victim. Although the Government announced that the fatal wound was self-inflicted, on the morning of the discovery of the body the inmates of the harem and the entire staff of domestics were marched off under a military escort to an unknown destination. The enmity between the Prince and Enver Pasha was bitter. In the State Councils the Prince charged Enver Pasha with being responsible for the ruin of Turkey by embarking : on a disastrous war on the side of ' Germany. Over and over again he [ declared himself in favour of a sep- , arate peace. i Enver's Keen Hate. Enver is also a keen hater who, seemingly, would never scruple to ) remove inconvenient enemies from i his path, and the climax was reached ' a few weeks before the Prince's 1 death when the murdered man said ' to Enver: "Beware what you are doing. Your hour is approaching when the nation will rise Up and > exact reparation for its sufferings— ! its hunger. In the people's hour of j vengeance, they will probably hang ; you all." ( It was this outburst that probably ■ sealed the fate of the unhappy 1 Prince, for the tyrant of Turkey < would brook no criticism of the pol- ' icy of his German masters and pay- j masters.