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106 haj pilgrims face investigation in Jakarta
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Muslim pilgrims make their way to the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 9. (AP/Nariman El-Mofty)
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s many as 106 Indonesian haj pilgrims who had traveled to Mecca via Manila illegally by using fake Philippine passports will face investigations by legal enforcers for their violations against both Philippine and Indonesian immigration laws, an official has said.
The group, consisting of 78 women and 28 men, would be temporarily placed under government supervision at the Haj Boarding House in Pondok Gede, West Java, said the Foreign Ministry’s director for the protection of Indonesian nationals and entities abroad, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, in a statement received on Friday
The National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) and Law and Human Rights Ministry's directorate general of immigration will question them to prevent a repeat of the same crime, he said, adding that the Foreign Ministry had assisted throughout the legal process while the haj pilgrims were detained by the Philippine government
"What the Indonesian citizens had done is considered a serious offense under Philippine laws. However, through diplomatic efforts by the government, they were released from criminal charges and can return home," Iqbal said.
The majority of the pilgrims were residents of South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Jakarta and Lampung. Several were also residents of Sabah, Malaysia.
The haj pilgrims return in two flights. The first group had arrived on late Thursday via Philippines Airlines flight PR 535 and were accompanied by Indonesian Embassy officials. The second batch is expected to arrive on Friday at 11:55 p.m. (bbn)
