Vienna is centrally located in Europe and enjoys a high level of freedom...

Vienna is centrally located in Europe and enjoys a high level of freedom, security, beauty, and the resources to organize such an event, as well as an advanced level of telecommunications that makes it feasible to have live broadcast of all the proceedings directly to all parts of the world simultaneously. This way the greatest number of people across the globe can follow the events of this unique court tribunal.

Furthermore, a new satellite channel has been especially set up for this purpose at a high cost which the devotees of Imam Al-Husayn (as) have donated from all over the world. This of course is in addition to other local and satellite channels everywhere. Twelve judges representing the six continents of the world were chosen for this trial two judges representing each continent. These judges were carefully selected by the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

They are well known for their competence, proficiency, and neutrality, as well as high level of technical expertise in their field globally. It has been decided that the court will follow the jury system as it is currently applied in the US, England, and Australia, with one difference. The judges will also have the right to vote alongside the jurors in reaching a final verdict of “guilty” or not “guilty”.

The panel of jurors has also been carefully selected and their total number is 100; 75 men and 25 women who represent all people and ethnic groups across the globe. This number of jurors is exceptionally high and unprecedented in any other court case. Their selection took place after a long and tough search which the judges, prosecution, and defense teams all participated in.

Among the criteria for their selection is the lack of prior knowledge of the tragedy of Al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali (as) nor of what has happened in Karbala. The panel of jurors was selected from different age groups, educational, social, and religious backgrounds. As for the defense team, it is composed of a group of Muslim radicals who believe in the purity of the early Muslims (Salaf Al Saleh) and their followers (Tabe’een).

They believe in their cleanness as well as the innocence of those defendants accused of the crimes of Karbala who, according to them, are among Al Salaf Al Saleh. For that reason, they took the initiative to defend the perpetrators since they believe that these defendants are sacred religious figures who should not be tried.