Controlling the vast number of Muslims who wish to make the great pilgrimage to Mecca is a concern of the Saudi government. Given that all Muslims hold, as a basic pillar of their faith, that they should try to make the pilgrimage at least once, and given that Mecca occupies a finite space, not all who would like to attend can do so. Here, Saudi Gazette reports that the government has imposed fines and jail sentences on expatriates and 341 Saudis who facilitated their illegal entry into Mecca last year. The Mecca Governorate is stressing that it will be working preemptively this year.

371 jailed for illegal accessing of holy sites
Eid Al-Harithi

JEDDAH – The Expatriates Followup Administrative Committee on Sunday jailed 341 Saudis and 30 expatriates for assisting illegal migrants and those not holding valid Haj permits.

The committee handed out jail sentences and fines for Saudi nationals, and fines and deportation for expatriates upon completion of their prison terms.

The violators were arrested last year.

Col. Hussein Al-Harithi, Director of the Expatriates Followup Administrative Committee, warned that this year would see sophisticated precautionary measures to prevent anyone from accessing the holy sites without valid Haj permits.
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