106 Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims Finally Sent Back from Philippines
21 October 2016 09:44 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Foreign Minister has finally repatriated 106 Indonesians who departed to perform hajj using Philippine passports.
“The Indonesians have been repatriated in two batches,” said the Foreign Ministry Citizens and Legal Entities Protection director Lalu Muhammad Iqbal in a written statement on Friday.
The first batch, he said, had arrived at 11:55 pm on Thursday by Philippines Airlines PR 535 ETA, accompanued by officials of the Indonesian Embassy in Manila. “Whereas the second batch will arrive on Friday,” Iqbal said.
The hajj pilgrims will later be temporarily housed at Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory, where they will be interrogated by Police Criminal Investigation Unit and the Immigration DG.
Iqbal said that document forgery to go on hajj to Saudi Arabia is a serious crime under the Philippine law, Iqbal said. The Indonesians have been released thanks to the Indonesian diplomatic efforts. “They have been released without charge and allowed to go home.”
Iqbal said the government warns people not to make the same mistake. “Because if it happened again, there is no guarantee that they will be released without charge in the Philippines.”
YOHANES PASKALIS
