According to the statement, the name of the country was withheld in order to give time for "Iraqi authorities concerned to inform officials of that state through the right channels in order to know their reaction to to such vicious involvement".
James Thessin, the chief U.S. agent to the court, admitted that Arizona authorities violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to inform the LaGrands upon arrest on January 7, 1982, of their right to assistance from the German consulate.
This included new hand-tying procedures designed to prevent pain and injury, a requirement to inform parents of a child's detention, and for children to be informed of the right to a lawyer.