Margaretha Geertruida Zelle

A Dutch foundation and Mata Hari's birthplace sought a fresh review from French authorities. France's Defence Historical Service reports that the request was rejected; the historical conviction has not been judicially overturned.

State of the evidence

Review request rejected; historical conviction stands.

Legal status — source text

Later review request rejected; 1917 conviction has not been quashed.

Attribution

No new charge; posthumous challenge to the 1917 verdict.

Under counterintelligence surveillance, Mata Hari was arrested after a search of her Paris hotel room and detained. Authorities accused her of supplying intelligence to Germany; interrogation records and exhibits survive in military archives.

State of the evidence

Prosecution led to the death sentence of 25 July 1917.

Legal status — source text

Conviction entered on 25 July 1917 and not subsequently overturned.

Attribution

Espionage for the enemy alleged by French counterintelligence.

Course of the proceedings

1. 13.02.1917 Formally charged — Arrested and charged with espionage and collusion with the enemy.

The Third Permanent Court-Martial in Paris sentenced Mata Hari to death for espionage and collusion with the enemy after a closed trial. She disputed the charges and later studies highlighted limitations and contradictions in the evidence.

State of the evidence

The military court's 25 July 1917 conviction has not been overturned.

Legal status — source text

25 July 1917 conviction stands; sentence carried out.

Attribution

Espionage and collusion with the enemy were established by the court-martial.

Course of the proceedings

1. 13.02.1917 Formally charged — Charged with espionage and collusion with the enemy.

Mata Hari sought a review of her conviction. The permanent review court rejected the application on 17 August 1917, leaving the death sentence in place.

State of the evidence

The review was rejected on 17 August 1917; conviction upheld.

Legal status — source text

Review rejected on 17 August 1917; conviction upheld.

Attribution

Espionage under the standing military verdict.

President Raymond Poincaré declined to pardon Mata Hari, and she was executed by firing squad at Vincennes on 15 October 1917. Her execution ended the criminal case during her lifetime, but the fairness of the trial remains debated.

State of the evidence

Sentence carried out in 1917; no subsequent judicial acquittal identified.

Legal status — source text

Sentence carried out on 15 October 1917; no judicial exoneration identified.

Attribution

Espionage sentence carried out.