‘ran can pursue Mina tragedy at ICJ: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre, an international lawyer in Vancouver, about Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's call for an investigation into the Mina tragedy in Saudi Arabia, which led to the deaths of hundreds of people. 

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Being with the news that you have heard about this tragic situation, do you think that there are grounds that a case could be filed as for as looking at international law is concerned?  

Webre: Yes most certainly. We have to note that the Iranian State Prosecutor Ebrahim Raisi has stated that the incident is subject to prosecution and that they plan to hold the Saudi Arabia family in international courts and organizations.

Now from a legal point of view, I believe that there are a number of avenues that Iran could pursue. One I think would be the avenue that is most ideally suited to this is the International Court of Justice known as the ICJ and that is a court, it is the principle judicial organ of the United Nations. The seat of the court is in The Hague and there are many legal disputes between nations that are settled there and either by arbitration, negotiation or by actual lawsuit.

So that this dispute is ideal for that and I believe that the grounds could include criminal negligence if there is any evidence of any untoward activity within Saudi Arabia or its intelligence agencies and or other parties either maliciously manipulating or intentionally triggering or provoking the stampede including the use of covert neuroweapons which we know the United States may well has transferred to Saudi Arabia.

Now in the interest of balance I have to say that since we know that neuroweapons exist in the United States, United States may have transferred them to Israel and or to the UK which are also the principle backers of ISIS. So I just want to as a lawyer state that the facts have to be investigated but nevertheless the legal liability here lies with the Saudi Arabian government.

I believe that the ICJ, the International Court of Justice, they could have a case at the International Criminal Court against Saudi officials. There they are not going so much for damages but to really secure the imprisonment there you would have to find fairly heavy duty evidence of direct use of neuroweapons or other intent, say if there were a radical Sunni element that wanted to target Shia pilgrims within Saudi Arabia and they took this action as a provocation, as actually an attack against the citizens, that would qualify as what we call crimes against humanity and also genocide because it is specific religious warfare.

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