Khaberni - The Minor Criminal Court issued its verdict in the case related to the death of 99 Jordanian pilgrims during the 2024 Hajj season, convicting 13 defendants of fraud and sentencing them to one year of imprisonment, in addition to legal fees and fines. The court also convicted several Hajj and Umrah transport companies of fraud, imposing a fine of 200 dinars on each company.
The case dates back to three separate files, with the first file concluded about a year ago, while the second file was resolved a few days ago, leading to the current verdict against the defendants of the third file. The Public Prosecution had charged 43 defendants in the second file with human trafficking felony and fraud misdemeanor against all defendants, in addition to a misdemeanor of causing death against ten of them.
According to case details, during June and July 2024, several individuals and companies involved in attracting, accommodating, and transporting Jordanian citizens to perform Hajj outside the official mission were referred. It turned out that the defendants exploited personal and tourist visas that do not allow performing Hajj, and verbal contracts or agreements were made with the pilgrims through specialized Hajj and Umrah companies, which were later revealed to be some unregistered phantom companies at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The investigations showed that the defendants used fraudulent methods to lend credibility to their actions, aiming to mislead the complainants and entice them to perform the Hajj at a lower financial cost than the official Hajj cost. It was also proven that the transportation and accommodation activities took place in May 2024, a month before the start of the Hajj season, exploiting the citizens' intense desire to perform the religious duty.
The conditions faced by the pilgrims who dealt with these entities in Mecca were harsh, characterized by the absence of transportation and their need to walk tens of kilometers under the scorching sun, in temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius, conditions deemed unworthy of human dignity. The Ministry of Awqaf stated through official letters that the cards in the possession of the pilgrims were not issued by it, and the quick response (QR) codes were not linked to the official accredited site, while the official bracelets are exclusively issued by the accredited services companies in Saudi Arabia.
In painful incidents, testimonies revealed that some pilgrims faced frequent raids and were expelled from their accommodations, forcing some to return to Jordan, while others were left without buses to take them to the holy sites, and were forced to walk long distances. Some of them died after walking distances of 18, 20, 42, and 48 kilometers due to severe exhaustion and high temperatures.
The investigations also showed that some defendants used forged transit visas with a duration of only four days, leading to the detention of the pilgrims and their need to meet with Saudi officials and pay fines. In one of the cases, 44 pilgrims paid 55,000 dinars to one of the defendants, who admitted that their Hajj was irregular. Another defendant secured tickets for 60 people with visit visas, while another arranged travel for 90 people in exchange for a commission of 10 dinars per pilgrim.
The facts indicated that some defendants managed large groups without accompanying services or providing adequate transportation, resulting in the death of one pilgrim after walking 20 kilometers, while five out of 85 pilgrims in one trip died, and seven out of 174 pilgrims in another trip due to the absence of transportation. It was also proven that one of the defendants collected 130,000 dinars from 140 pilgrims, seven of whom died from heat exhaustion, with others also managing dozens and hundreds of pilgrims with forged visas in exchange for financial amounts.
Conversely, the court decided to acquit several defendants or find them not responsible for some of the charges against them, acquitting 13 defendants of the human trafficking charge due to insufficient evidence, declaring 28 defendants not criminally responsible for this felony due to the lack of criminal intent, acquitting nine defendants of the charge of causing death because the elements of the crime were not established, and dismissing public right claims in some fraud charges, in judgments issued in absentia and equivalent to presence, and are subject to appeal.
