Legal Considerations in Relating to Trials in Tehran

in GC 7921069 DEPARTMENT OF STATE # BRIEFING MEMORANDUM S/S November 18, 1979 : TO: The Deputy Secretary FROM: L - James R. Atwood NA Legal Considerations Relating to Trials in Tehran Attached is a brief memorandum demonstrating that subjecting our embassy personnel in Tehran to trials on charges of espionage would be in clear violation of international law. The analysis is simple, but we can elaborate on the memorandum if you think that would be productive. We have begun a review of the question whether there are useful principles of Islamic law that could also be cited. We have thus far found material that is only partially useful, and indeed there are indications that some of the more primitive notions of Islamic law are damaging. We will continue to pursue this, but I did not wish to hold up the attached in the meantime. NEA has sent a cable to Cairo, suggesting that the Embassy contact leading Egyptian scholars to see whether more. definitive principles of Islamic law are available to us. We have also initiated contacts with Islamic scholars here in the United States. NEA advises us that the more recent drafts of the proposed Iranian constitution are unavailable and, most likely, unhelpful. Attachment DECLASSIFIED Per, Rac Project CONFIDENTIAL GDS 11/18/85 (Atwood, James R.) ESDN: NLC- -6-2-2-3-9 BY. a NARA, DATE 7/21/15