Saudi Arabia to fine illegal Hajj pilgrims

Anyone found to enter the sites of Hajj (Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat) without a permit from Dhul Qadah 28 till the end of Dhu Al-Hijjah 12 will be issued with a fine of SR10,000, the kingdom’s interior ministry said, Sputnik reported.

The fine will be doubled if the offence is repeated, it said, adding that security personnel will be posted on roads leading to the holy sites to ensure that anyone who breaks the law will be stopped and fined.
Requests from people of 160 nationalities in the Kingdom have been screened electronically to select who will perform Hajj this year, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said on Sunday.
The requests were sorted in accordance with high standards that will ensure the safety and good health of pilgrims.
The deadline for all applications was July 10 and the main criterion for selection is good health.
Of the pilgrims who will receive approval, 70 percent will be non-Saudis residing in the Kingdom and the remaining 30 percent will be Saudi citizens.
Saudi Arabia decided in June to limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending the Hajj to around 1,000 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, after barring Muslims abroad from the rite for the first year in modern times.