Saudi Arabia Blacklists 54 Umrah and Hajj
Saudi Arabia Blacklists 54 Umrah and Hajj Services in 19 Arab and Islamic Countries
A number of Muslims wait for the start of Friday prayers in the courtyard of the Nabawi Mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Friday 28 June 2024. The Nabawi Mosque was packed with Muslims from various countries to perform Friday prayers after carrying out the peak series of the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. BETWEEN PHOTOS/Sigid Kurniawan/YU
- Fifty-four tourism services that organize Umrah and Hajj trips in 19 Arab and Islamic countries have been blacklisted for violations on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. This move is part of a clampdown on fake trips as the new Umrah season begins.
According to Gulf News, Saudi Arabia added them to the blacklist as part of the country's efforts to combat illegal intermediaries in fake Umrah trips there. This is based on violations committed by travel agents that were detected during the Hajj season last June.
Saudi Arabia's Central Statistics Agency (Gastat) stated that the total number of pilgrims this year was more than 1.8 million people. This includes more than 1.6 million people from various countries and more than 221,000 domestic pilgrims.
This Hajj season brought tragedy when 1,301 pilgrims died, most of them due to the high temperature spike, which reached 51.8 degrees Celsius in Mecca. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health found that 80 percent of the pilgrims who died did not have Hajj visas from their tourism agents.
Several countries, whose citizens died during the Hajj season this year, have taken firm action against violations committed by tourist agents. Jordanian prosecutors have been investigating the deaths of 99 pilgrims in the country in connection with illegal Haj pilgrimages.
On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, according to Roya News, the Jordanian Public Prosecutor announced that the number of suspects in this case had increased to 54 people and 27 of them had been detained in correctional and rehabilitation institutions. A total of 27 suspects have been prohibited from traveling.
Jordanian prosecutors have also ordered three companies closed in accordance with the Anti-Trafficking Law. Their assets and proceeds of crime have also been confiscated.
Jordanian prosecutors have also revealed the initial findings of an investigation that indicted 28 suspects in cases of human trafficking under the Anti-Trafficking Law and fraud under the Criminal Code. They also coordinated with the cyber crime unit to track and analyze testimonies and videos of unauthorized Hajj trips circulating on social media platforms.
Their investigations have revealed that certain individuals, including owners of travel companies and providers of Hajj and Umrah services, were involved in recruiting, transporting, and providing accommodation to many Jordanians to visit Mecca during the Hajj season without the necessary permits.
They made the trip outside the official Jordanian Hajj group in early May 2024, a month before the Hajj season, using a visit permit that was not a Hajj visa. These companies and individuals knowingly facilitate these unauthorized pilgrimages in exchange for money.
Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry spokesman, Colonel Talal Al-Shalhoub, said that the companies were encouraging people to break the rules by staying in Makkah two months before the Hajj season. Jordanian government spokesman, Muhammad Mubaideen, confirmed that their investigation found that some of its citizens were cheated by certain people and offices in the illegal pilgrimage.
Egyptian authorities have also revoked the licenses of 16 tourist companies for illegally organizing Hajj trips. Officials of these companies have been referred to public prosecutors and the companies have been fined as compensation to the families of the deceased pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed Minister of Religion Brahim Chaibi following the deaths of Tunisian hajj pilgrims. The number of Tunisian pilgrims who died reached 62 people and some are still missing. "The Consulate General of the Republic of Tunisia in Jeddah is monitoring the condition of sick pilgrims staying in hospitals in the Makkah, Taif and Jeddah regions, totaling 13 cases, and missing pilgrims totaling 10 cases to date," said the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as quoted by Tunisie Numerique on June 27, 2024.