Journal De Bruxelles - No permit, no hajj: Saudi intensifies crackdown after heat deaths

Regular raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts are aimed at rooting out unauthorised visitors hoping to mingle among the crowds in and around the holy city of Mecca.

The simple message, "No hajj without a permit", is being blared out in a relentless campaign promoted nationwide at shopping centres, on billboards and across media platforms.

Last year, 1,301 pilgrims, most of them unregistered and lacking access to air-conditioned tents and buses, died as temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Since the end of last season, we realised the biggest challenge is preventing unauthorised pilgrims from undermining the success of the hajj season," said one official helping organise the hajj, requesting anonymity.

The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be completed by all Muslims with the means at least once.

Yet official permits are allocated to countries through a quota system and distributed to individuals via a lottery.

Even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs make the irregular route -- which costs thousands of dollars less -- more attractive.

Saudi officials said 83 percent of those who died last year did not have official hajj permits. Temperatures of up to 44C (111F) are forecast next week.

- 'Unprecedented' security -

To seek out unregistered pilgrims, Saudi authorities have rolled out a new fleet of drones to monitor entrances into Mecca.

Security forces have also raided hundreds of apartments in search of people hiding out in the area.

An Egyptian engineer living in Mecca, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said his building was raided multiple times in recent weeks.

"Police officers in uniform came to my home twice and asked to see my and my wife's residency permits," he told AFP.

"Almost everywhere, we're being asked to show residency or work permits in Mecca. The security presence is unprecedented."

The problem of illicit pilgrims has become acute since Saudi Arabia loosened visa restrictions in line with economic reforms, trying to attract more tourism and business.

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have used family and tourist visas, instead of the designated hajj visa, to enter the country each year.

- Fines and bans -

Saudi Arabia is now trying to cut off the problem at source, restricting multiple-entry visas for citizens of several countries since January.

Family and tourist visas were also barred to nationals of more than 10 countries, including Egypt, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Jordan.

Umar Karim, an expert on Saudi affairs at the University of Birmingham, said officials previously focused on "deterring people but not stopping them" from coming before hajj.

"Saudi authorities have seen that once these people are inside the kingdom, stopping them from physically entering Mecca is a difficult task even if a huge number of security officials are deployed," he added.

For the past month, entry into Mecca has been restricted to individuals with work and residency permits.

Many people in Mecca have been forced to send their wives and children, who lack the proper visas, out of the city.

Pilgrims coming for umrah -- similar rites that can be performed year-round -- have also been required to leave.

Meanwhile, fines for an illicit hajj have doubled to 20,000 Saudi riyals ($5,333), with violators facing a 10-year ban from the country.

Those found to be harbouring and helping unauthorised pilgrims can be fined up to 100,000 riyals ($26,666).

"All of this is aimed at ensuring that Mecca is reserved exclusively for authorised pilgrims during the Hajj season," the official added.

Residents of Mecca told AFP that the crowds there have noticeably thinned compared to previous years.

However, officials said on Tuesday that more than a million pilgrims had already arrived in Saudi Arabia for the hajj.

Last year's hajj deaths were a high-profile example of the havoc wrought by heat in 2024, which the Copernicus Climate Change Service said was the hottest year ever recorded.

While the pilgrimage, which follows a lunar calendar, will eventually shift to the cooler winter season, relief will be temporary.

A 2019 study published by the journal Geophysical Research Letters said because of climate change and the timing of the hajj, heat stress for pilgrims will exceed the "extreme danger threshold" from 2047 to 2052, and 2079 to 2086.

D.Verstraete--JdB