"The ministry's Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah management will provide socialization to Umrah travel agents," the ministry's spokesperson, Anna Hasbie, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
She informed that so far, the ministry has always provided briefing and coaching to Umrah travel agents and Umrah pilgrims before they leave for Saudi Arabia.
Hasbie said that Umrah travel agents must socialize the regulations during the pilgrimage to pilgrims.
"The regulations implemented in Saudi Arabia must be obeyed. Moreover, each year, there are new dynamic rules. We have conveyed it to the Umrah travel agents and they must socialize it to their pilgrims as well," she added.
She said that her ministry has coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the matter. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has also deployed a legal counsel to provide assistance to the alleged perpetrator.
"We already have (deployed a) lawyer to handle this case," she added.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that it has prepared legal steps to follow up on a report of an Indonesian citizen being detained in Saudi Arabia on charges of sexual harassment.
According to the ministry, the Indonesian citizen, identified as Muhammad Said, 26, has been detained following a trial that found him guilty of sexual harassment based on the evidence of two eyewitnesses and his direct confession.
However, the director for the protection of Indonesian citizens and legal entities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, said that the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah did not receive any information from the Saudi Arabian authorities regarding Said's trial.
On December 20, 2022, Said was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 50 thousand riyals or around Rp200 million.
The South Sulawesi resident was arrested by security officers after he was accused of sexually harassing a female Lebanese pilgrim during the tawaf at the Grand Mosque.
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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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