Mongol Trial Results!

Happy 2013!

The results of the Mongol Trial are in and they are as follows:

Period 3

Score: Prosecution 299
           Defense 392

On the Charge of Kidnapping the Mongols are found Not Guilty.  The Prosecution offered no credible witness to speak to being taken against his or her will, and the defense successfully brought the issue of Prisoners of War to the forefront, which weakened the charge significantly. Thus the charge is dismissed

On the Charge of Terrorism, the Mongols are found Not Guilty. The Prosecution witness from Kiev was certainly frightened of the Mongols, as were the Chinese peasants however, merely being frightened of an enemy force in a time of war is not terrorism.  The prosecution needed to do more work to portray the Mongols as attempting to alter political or social structures through the use of terror, and the defense successfully pointed to a state of war that the European Knight was in agreement with.  Thus the charge is dismissed.

On the Charge of Genocide, the Mongols are found Not Guilty. Though the Prosecution proved an extensive body count as a result of the Mongol's activities, they were unsuccessful in painting the Mongols as deliberately seeking the extermination of an entire group of people based on shared characteristics.  The Kievian priest did make this point effectively, but the presence of Friar John as a similar religious figure who survived his time with the Mongols undermined the argument made by the Prosecution to the extent that the charge must be dismissed as unproven.

Period 4

Score: Prosecution 410
           Defense 351

On the Charge of Kidnapping, the Mongols are Guilty.  The Prosecution presented convincing testimony from one Guillaume Boucher that the defense did not successfully dis-credit on cross examination.  He was clearly taken from his home against his will, and he was prevented from resuming his life. There was additional mentioning of kidnapping of Chinese peasants, but this wasn't fully substantiated by the prosecution.  Regardless, GB's testimony was fully convincing.

On the Charge of Terrorism the Mongols are Guilty.  The Caliph offered clear testimony to the fact that the Islamic world was kept in a state of fear by Hulagu's actions, and this paralysis contributed to the collapse of his empire.  Though the prosecution offered the testimony of a Kievian priest in support of the charge, the testimony was not credible to this point.  The testimony of the Defense witness Friar John did speak to a deliberate attempt to instill fear in a population for political means, and when that happens, the verdict must be guilty.

On the Charge of Genocide the Mongols are Not Guilty.  No testimony by the prosecution with stood cross examination on this charge.  At no point was evidence offered that the Mongols targeted people for extermination because of an innate quality or characteristic, other than a lack of surrender.  Though it was brought up that a notion of eliminating all Chinese people circulated among the Mongol leadership, no action along these lines was taken, and as a result, there was no genocide that was committed.