Saint Krikor Zohrab

Krikor Zohrab (Armenian: Գրիգոր Զոհրապ; 26 June 1861 – 1915) was an Armenian writer, politician, and lawyer from Constantinople. At the onset of the Armenian genocide he was arrested by the Turkish government and sent to appear before a military court in Diyarbakır. En route, at a locality called Karaköprü or Şeytanderesi on the outskirts of Urfa, he was murdered by a band of known brigands under the leadership of Çerkez Ahmet, Halil and Nazım some time between 15 and 20 July 1915. Zohrab was born into a wealthy family in Beşiktaş, Constantinople on 26 June 1861. His early education was completed at a local Armenian Catholic school. He graduated from Galatasaray High School with a degree in civil engineering, but did not go on to work in that field. Instead, he enrolled in a newly opened law school, the Imperial University of Jurisprudence (today: Istanbul University Faculty of Law), and received his law degree in 1882. Zohrab became a known lawyer in the courts of the Ottoman Empire. He later became a professor of law at the university. At age 27, Zohrab married Clara Yazejian, and fathered two daughters and two sons. One of the daughters, Dolores Zohrab Liebmann, eventually became an American philanthropist. Krikor Zohrab was successful in defending many Armenians charged with a variety of political and criminal offenses between 1895-96. During the defense of a Bulgarian revolutionary he accused a Turkish official of torture. As a result, he was disbarred and forced to live abroad. In 1908, following the revolution of the Young Turks, Zohrab became a member of parliament in the Ottoman Council, and also served his community as an Armenian councilor. Zohrab was an intellectual with a busy life. Although Zohrab was usually open to progressive ideas, he was conservative on women's role in society. He believed that women should keep their traditional roles and not venture further.