Saudi man arrested, accused of helping non-Muslim journalist enter Mecca
Israeli press reports identified the journalist as Israeli television reporter Gil Tamary, though Saudi authorities referred to the journalist as a “US citizen.”
Saudi authorities have charged a man with helping a non-Muslim journalist enter the holy city of Mecca.
Mecca police referred an unidentified citizen to prosecutors for allegedly “transferring and facilitating” a non-Muslim journalist’s entry into the Muslim holy city. The journalist, only identified as a US citizen, allegedly entered via a route that non-Muslims are not allowed to use, the official Saudi Press Agency reported today.
Mecca is the holiest place in the world for Muslims. Religious authorities there do not allow non-Muslims to enter the city.
The news follows Israeli Channel 13 journalist Gil Tamary entering Mecca earlier this month during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. In a July 18 video for Channel 13, Tamary filmed himself in Mecca and spoke to the camera in Hebrew, saying he was in a place that non-Muslims are not allowed to enter. The image of his driver’s face is blurred out in the video. Tamary, who has since returned to Israel, has said that the driver did not know he was Israeli.
