Some 30 people accused of providing Iranians with fake visas for Saudi Arabia went on trial in a Tehran court on Tuesday, reported the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, citing a local newspaper.
The government-run daily, Iran, said the trial was being conducted in the Bench 1611 of Tehran's Public Court, presided over by Judge Mohsen Eftekhari.
It said some 160 pilgrims were provided with forged visas. Last March, Iran’s Interior Ministry said it had busted a Tehran-based ring producing fake visas for Saudi Arabia and arrested 13 agents.
It said that the forged visas were meant to enable Muslim pilgrims to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah (minor pilgrimage to Mecca). It gave no details on the identity of the detainees at the time.
Saudi Arabia allows a certain number of people from each Muslim country to make pilgrimages under a quota system – Albawaba.com
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