Saudi criminal negligence behind Hajj crush: Professor

Press TV has interviewed Foad Izadi, a professor at the University of Tehran, and Richard William Murphy, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia from New York, to discuss this year’s Hajj catastrophes.

Izadi states if the Saudis were competent to hold the most important Islamic ritual and paid attention to their duties, there would not have been thousand victims during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.

He criticizes the inhumane behavior of Saudi officials toward Hajj pilgrims, saying the main cause of the tragedy was the reported closure of a path at the site of the stampede due to the unscheduled passage of a royal convoy.

There are several security cameras at the scene of the stampede, but Saudi officials and security forces arrived at the scene with an hours-long delay, the professor says, adding that the Saudis are to blame for their criminal negligence.

An independent international investigation is needed to shed light on the Saudis’ exact role in the incident, he argues, criticizing Riyadh for trying to evade its responsibility by laying the blame for the human crush on pilgrims in Mina.

He also says the Saudi kingdom should apologize for its negligence and mismanagement during the Hajj rituals.

Izadi urges the United States to halt its all-out support for the Al Saud regime, which has a long record of ignoring the safety of Hajj pilgrims, while actively funding terrorist groups in the Middle East and striking neighboring Yemen in violation of the international law.

Murphy, for his part, believes the “Saudi Arabians take their responsibility very seriously” for the security of pilgrims, arguing that Riyadh does not see any need for international participation in an investigation into the causes of the Mina disaster.

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