In the first official report after the girl’s death on Sept. 14, the Investigation and Public Prosecution Commission said the Yemeni would be handed over to the court once the probe is over. “The prosecutor will demand harsh punishment for him,” it added.
“It has become clear after investigations and statements from witnesses that the girl fell from the hotel while trying to escape,” a spokesman of the commission said.
The Saudi investigators accused the Yemeni worker of illegal seclusion (khulwa) and seducing a young girl of that age. The girl, who was born on 1-10-1995, had come to Makkah with her family to perform Umrah.
The commission said it had conducted a comprehensive investigation of the incident, questioned many people involved in the incident and studied the medical reports of the forensic department and the laboratory for evidence.
People in Makkah and other parts of the Kingdom were shocked after hearing of the incident and were eagerly waiting for the commission’s investigation report to know the facts regarding the girl’s death after the local press gave conflicting reports.
The girl was buried in Sharaia graveyard in Makkah on Sept. 21 after funeral prayers at the Grand Mosque. Her stepfather and a large number of citizens attended the funeral.
Local newspapers carried statements by the Algerian consul in the Kingdom expressing his confidence and trust in the Kingdom’s security organs in dealing with the crime. Some foreign circles, however, tried to exploit the incident to cast doubts on the Saudi government’s services to pilgrims and visitors.
