Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights has called on the United Nations to investigate the alleged sexual abuse of two Iranian pilgrims by Saudi officers at Jeddah airport.
While performing a body search on passengers at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi officers allegedly took two Iranian teenagers, aged 14 and 15, away, citing suspicion. The officers, who had sounded off the alarm at the gate, allegedly subjected the teenagers to indecent acts.
Following the incident, Iran summoned the Saudi chargé d’affaires and submitted a note of complaint to the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia says it has arrested the two officers. But the council said the Islamic Republic reserves the right to follow up on the alleged abuse through international mechanisms.
In a statement published on its website, the council condemned the heinous act, adding that the alleged harassment of the Iranian teens had been committed based on a fatwa by a Saudi sheikh and congregational prayers leader.
Such a move indicates that the Saudi cleric not only does not consider the act illegal and against Islamic teachings, but also prescribes it as authorized and acceptable, the statement said.
The council further called the act deplorable, dangerous and worrisome, urging the UN Human Rights Council to take strong measures against abuse whether within the framework of either the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
[This story has been edited from the source material.]
