Mohammad Javad Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights pointed to the latest status of follow-ups on the Mina stampede asserting that the legal proceedings over Hajj stampede at Mina were still on the agenda.
Referring to the prolongation of the proceedings, the official said several dimensions of the case had to be pursued out of the borders of Iran which explains why the process has taken such a long time; “what compounds the problem is that, unfortunately, the incident occurred in a country like Saudi Arabia, which has a very unstable and unreliable judicial system.”
“Meanwhile, Iran’s Judiciary has appropriately dealt with relevant complaints received from people and necessary cases have been filed,” highlighted the official adding that “the legal proceedings will continue and Iran’s Judiciary will announce its verdict in the near future.
He added that the process should also be followed at an international level.
At the end of his remarks, HCHR’s head reiterated that the reason for lack of a tangible and satisfactory result in the ongoing case pertains to corruption of security, judicial and other law enforcement agencies of other countries.
On September 24 in Mina, situated 5 kilometers to the east of the Holy city of Mecca, over 4,000 pilgrims were crushed to death in a stampede caused by a blocked avenue by Saudi guards. The death toll for Iranian pilgrims was the highest, reaching 464. Although Iran holds Saudi Arabia accountable for the incident, the kingdom has not paid any compensations to the families of victims and been dodging its responsibility for two years. Lack of diplomatic ties between the two countries has also contributed to the stalemate of the case.
HA