Israel’s friends are calling for the arrest of Iran’s president in advance of his arrival next week in New York City
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be in New York for the opening of the new session of the United Nations General Assembly. On Monday, a team of lawyers and diplomats who want Ahmadinejad tried for inciting genocide will call on the U.S. Department of Justice to arrest the Iranian president when he arrives on American soil. “He is an international war criminal,” said Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz. “He has repeatedly violated the anti-genocide convention. He is as guilty as the Rwandans who are convicted and sentenced to years in prison for inciting genocide.” Ahmadenijad’s visit has been roiling New York for days. A scheduled appearance at Columbia University has prompted calls for the school to rescind the invitation. Columbia refused, invoking the principle of free speech. The New York City Police Department also announced that it would not accompany Ahmadinejad to Ground Zero as he had requested, though some reports suggest he plans to travel there anyway.
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