Spokesman for the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Seyyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini noted on Friday that it is Iran’s legal right to investigate the execution of its nationals in Saudi Arabia.
The lawmaker noted that political nature of Saudi measure became more evident when Saudi officials refused to issue visas for an Iranian delegation which was to investigate the executions, Majlis official news agency, ICANA, reported.
“When Saudi Arabia denies visas to the Iranian investigators, it actually proves Iran’s claim about the political nature of the executions,” the Iranian lawmaker added.
Naqavi Hosseini emphasized that it was necessary for Saudi authorities to cooperate with Iran to determine the truth of the executions.
He added that if Riyadh refuses to cooperate with Iran’s investigations, Tehran will be entitled to ask international organizations for assistance.
On April 18, Press TV reported that Saudi officials had executed eight Iranian sailors in the eastern city of Dammam without any legal proceedings.
According to the Saudi Al-Tagheer news channel, the executions were carried out on April 15 on the order of the Saudi Interior Ministry, which has been also implicated in the unrest in Syria and the violence in Iraq as well.
On May 30, the Persian-language Tabnak news website reported that Saudi officials in Dammam have executed 10 more Iranian citizens. The website added that a total of 25 Iranians are kept at Dammam prison and 18 of them have been executed in two stages.
The prisoners are Iranian sailors who were arrested on a fishing boat in international waters 70 miles off the coast of Saudi Arabia six years ago on charges of drug possession.
Amnesty International has condemned Saudi Arabia for the recent execution of a number of Iranian citizens, warning that a large number of people are being executed in the kingdom after ‘grossly unfair’ trials.
MP/HGH/SS
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