An independent tribunal in The Hague announced that it will examine the killings of at least 20,000 political prisoners, by Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, in the 1980’s.

The investigation aims to uncover the truth of what occurred in Iran’s jails, highlighting the selective nature of what the UN courts and special tribunals wish to act upon.

A former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) who will now work for the independent tribunal, Sir Geoffrey Nice, described the ICC as highly selective and fundamentally flawed.

“The ICC suffers a further, significant and probably irremediable defect. The treaty-based permanent court has been ratified by only 121 of the approximately 200 countries in the world,” he said.

Outlining the intention of the new independent tribunal to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its crimes against humanity, Nice highlighted,

“This is a conflict that would never be selected for international attention despite its gravity. The informal tribunal-that may be matched by others and by other internet and computer-assisted processes yet to be imagined-shows that the world citizen can hope courts will serve him well, but can easily find the means to do the job himself if they don’t.”

The tribunal has chosen the home of the UN’s international court of justice, Peace Palace, to host it’s final sessions from 25-27 October.