The Man Who Defended Gavrilo Princip

This is the story about the investigation and trial following the Sarajevo assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, which triggered the First World War. The courtroom drama is seen through the eyes of young attorney Rudolf Zistler, one of the attorneys appointed by the court to defend the 24 accused members of Young Bosnia and assassin Gavrilo Princip. Rudolf Zistler, the forgotten hero of this historic trial, was the only one who really defended the accused, in spite of the threats, and facing a danger of being lynched by Austrian officers. According to his own conscience and skill, he bravely proved that the accusation for high treason was not legally valid since Bosnia was not legally part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, but just an occupied territory.