Legal action vow over pilgrim crush
They have to know that we will pursue the trial of AlSaud for the crime they have committed against the haj pilgrims through international courts and organisations.
Iran yesterday vowed to take international legal action against Saudi Arabia’s rulers over the crush of Muslim pilgrims at this year’s haj, which killed at least 769 people, including 136 Iranians, and has led to an escalation of tensions between the regional archrivals.
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir later responded to Iran’s criticism, telling reporters in New York that ‘‘I believe that the Iranians should know better than to play politics with a tragedy that has befallen people who were performing their most sacred religious duty, which is the pilgrimage.’’
The pilgrims suffocated or were trampled to death Thursday when two massive crowds converged on a narrow street, in the worst disaster to occur during the annual pilgrimage in a quarter-century. Shi’ite Iran has accused Sunni Saudi Arabia of mismanaging the pilgrimage, which annually draws about 2 million people from 180 countries.
Iranians make up the largest group of casualties identified so far. Iranian state TV says a former ambassador to Lebanon, as well as two Iranian state TV reporters and a prominent political analyst were among those still missing.
The semi-official Fars news agency said a former ambassador to Slovenia was among the dead.
‘‘Under international law, this incident is absolutely subject to prosecution. The Al-Saud must be responsive,’’ Iran’s State Prosecutor Ebrahim Raisi told state TV, referring to Saudi Arabia’s ruling family.
He said Saudi authorities blocked a road used by haj pilgrims to allow a royal convoy to pass through, causing the deadly convergence in the town of Mina on the outskirts of Mecca. ‘‘They have to know that we will pursue the trial of Al-Saud for the crime they have committed against the haj pilgrims through international courts and organisations.’’
Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s State Prosecutor
Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia is a state party to the International Criminal Court, and only the court’s prosecutor can file charges. Iran could try to file a case at the International Court of Justice, which handles disputes between nations but does not mete out criminal justice.
Saudi Arabia has not responded to the Iranian accusations regarding the convoy. Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press that a VIP convoy travelling through Mina on Thursday, which included foreign dignitaries, had nothing to do with the incident and was in a different part of town. He said VIPs used their own roads in Mina.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are bitterly divided on a host of regional issues and support opposite sides in the wars raging in Syria and Yemen. The accusations of mismanagement of the pilgrimage strike at a key pillar of the Saudi royal family’s prestige – King Salman holds the title of the ‘‘custodian of the two holy mosques.’’
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani began an address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday by expressing ‘‘regret over the heart-rending incident’’, emphasising the ‘‘need for swift attention’’ to an investigation into ‘‘this incident and other similar incidents in this year’s haj’’.