Iran’s Judiciary Chief Asks Prosecutor General to Pursue Case of Mina Tragedy


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani underlined the necessity to pursue the case of deadly incident in Mina in which hundreds of pilgrims are dead, among them 226 Iranian nationals.

Addressing a group of senior judicial officials Monday, Ayatollah Larijani asked the country’s Prosecutor General to investigate the case in cooperation with foreign ministry and through consultation with Muslim countries, whose citizens were killed in the incident, until a final solution is found.

He further said that Muslim countries should find a mechanism for better manage the holy sites.

He condoled the bereaved families of the victims and said Saudi Arabia cannot shrug off responsibility over recent incident or avoid apologizing to world Muslims.

Earlier, Iran’s Prosecutor General Seyed Ebrahim Raeisi had said if Riyadh does not punish those behind a recent crush near the holy city of Mecca.

“It is disturbing and regrettable for everyone to witness the gusts of God (Hajj pilgrims) are hurt in this way,” Raeisi said in a speech on Saturday.

He said the tragic incident should not be considered the Saudis’ lack of prudence and competence only, but it was actually a crime.

The Iranian prosecutor general further warned that if Saudi authorities do not investigate the issue and punish those behind the incident, Iran will ask international courts to deal with the Saudi crime.