Unlike the special court for Sierra Leone where the former Liberian president Charles Taylor is on trial, members of the public at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are on the same level as the court, and have an unobstructed view of the trial chamber.
Google Scholar, the open source database used to identify published cases, is not a complete data base of state cases involving Shariah because as a search tool it allows retrieval only of those reported appellate and trial court level cases that are available through open sources.
The Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Justice say they have been given assurances at the "highest level" that both men will receive a fair trial and treatment, whatever the outcome of the case.