{"id":16882,"date":"2025-05-02T20:25:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T20:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/?p=16882"},"modified":"2025-05-02T20:25:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T20:25:41","slug":"hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Watan-<\/em><\/strong>Saudi authorities are continuing to impose strict restrictions on the Hajj season, recently announcing financial penalties of up to 100,000 riyals (approx. $26,000), along with deportation and a 10-year ban from entering the kingdom for anyone performing Hajj without an official permit. The penalties also apply to those who assist unauthorized pilgrims\u2014whether through transport, housing, or organization.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"539\" data-end=\"868\">Although the kingdom justifies these measures as necessary to protect pilgrims and organize the rituals, criticism continues to mount regarding the real objectives behind such policies, especially amid widespread reports of a black market for permits and accusations of favoritism and corruption within the organizational system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"870\" data-end=\"1318\">These decisions come as part of an economic vision led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, where Hajj and Umrah are increasingly viewed as massive investment opportunities generating billions of riyals through visas, hospitality services, transportation, and commercial contracts. Specific companies and influential royals dominate the Hajj campaign market, while official service prices continue to rise under the guise of \u201cpremium organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0645\u0646 \u0634\u0639\u064a\u0631\u0629 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0634\u0631\u0648\u0639 \u062a\u062c\u0627\u0631\u064a.. \u0647\u0644 \u0641\u0642\u062f <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%AC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u0644\u062d\u062c<\/a> \u0642\u062f\u0633\u064a\u062a\u0647\u061f!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0639\u0648\u062f\u064a\u0629<\/a> \u0628\u0627\u062a\u062a \u062a\u062d\u062a\u0643\u0631 \u0645\u0642\u062f\u0633\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0633\u0644\u0645\u064a\u0646 \u0648\u062a\u0645\u0646\u0639 \u0627\u0644\u0648\u0635\u0648\u0644 \u0625\u0644\u064a\u0647\u0627 \u0645\u0646 \u062e\u0644\u0627\u0644 \u0634\u0631\u0648\u0637 \u0645\u0627\u0644\u064a\u0629 \u0648\u0623\u0645\u0646\u064a\u0629 \u0645\u062c\u062d\u0641\u0629\u060c \u0648\u063a\u0636\u0628 \u064a\u062a\u0635\u0627\u0639\u062f \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u062d\u062a\u0643\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0627\u0626\u0631 \u0648\u062a\u0647\u0645\u064a\u0634 \u0642\u062f\u0633\u064a\u062a\u0647\u0627! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VtVAk2UrNB\">pic.twitter.com\/VtVAk2UrNB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u0648\u0637\u0646. \u064a\u063a\u0631\u062f \u062e\u0627\u0631\u062c \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0631\u0628 (@watanserb_news) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/watanserb_news\/status\/1917896268652609962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-10\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto py-5 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @[37rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @[72rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:32rem] @[34rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @[64rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto flex max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 text-base gap-4 md:gap-5 lg:gap-6 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"relative flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"dd994532-ae9e-40d8-a521-b4715ba8ccaf\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full break-words light\">\n<h3 data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"103\"><strong data-start=\"19\" data-end=\"103\" data-is-last-node=\"\">Surveillance and Exclusion: Hajj Under Saudi Security Grip and Economic Barriers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1320\" data-end=\"1745\">On the security front, the kingdom has imposed tight control around the holy sites, with widespread surveillance cameras, checkpoints, and crackdowns on any form of protest\u2014or even taking photographs. The recent case of a Turkish pilgrim being threatened for raising the Palestinian flag serves as a stark example of the militarization of sacred spaces, turning them into zones of total surveillance rather than free worship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1747\" data-end=\"2001\">Recurring deaths each season due to overcrowding, poor services, and the lack of transparent investigations into these incidents continue to raise pressing questions about the kingdom\u2019s responsibility and its fitness to manage this global Islamic ritual.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2259\">With Saudi Arabia monopolizing access to the holy sites and tying entry to stringent financial and security conditions, many are now asking: Is Hajj still a sanctuary \u201cfor all people,\u201d or has it become a privilege for those who can pay\u2014and stay silent?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watan-Saudi authorities are continuing to impose strict restrictions on the Hajj season, recently announcing financial penalties of up to 100,000 riyals (approx. $26,000), along with deportation and a 10-year ban from entering the kingdom for anyone performing Hajj without an official permit. The penalties also apply to those who assist unauthorized pilgrims\u2014whether through transport, housing, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[71,223,5224],"class_list":["post-16882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-saudi-authorities","tag-the-hajj-season"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control - Watan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Saudi Arabia imposes severe penalties\u2014including 100,000 riyal fines and 10-year bans\u2014on unauthorized pilgrims.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Saudi Arabia imposes severe penalties\u2014including 100,000 riyal fines and 10-year bans\u2014on unauthorized pilgrims.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Watan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watanserbusa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-02T20:25:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/89-4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Basil Al Sayed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Baselnagareg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@watanserb_news\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Basil Al Sayed\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Basil Al Sayed\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/09f5e22905d538fb4f2b40000264bf0b\"},\"headline\":\"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-02T20:25:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":342,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/89-4.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Saudi Arabia\",\"Saudi authorities\",\"The Hajj season\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control - Watan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/89-4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-02T20:25:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"Saudi Arabia imposes severe penalties\u2014including 100,000 riyal fines and 10-year bans\u2014on unauthorized pilgrims.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/89-4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/89-4.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Hajj restrictions Saudi Arabia\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/02\\\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Watan\",\"description\":\"Your trusted source for global Arab news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"watanserb\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Watan News LLC\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/watan.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/watan.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Watan News LLC\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/watanserbusa\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/watanserb_news\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/watanserb\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/71589400\\\/admin\\\/feed\\\/posts\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/t.me\\\/watanserb\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCuioSm-SG28IHcy8muZn2wg\",\"https:\\\/\\\/play.google.com\\\/store\\\/apps\\\/details?id=com.goodbarber.watan&hl=en_US&gl=US\",\"https:\\\/\\\/apps.apple.com\\\/us\\\/app\\\/---\\\/id1242712408\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/09f5e22905d538fb4f2b40000264bf0b\",\"name\":\"Basil Al Sayed\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e42f545663e1a65fb56c3630f415bab078c3925def38ac91caa9032fe8584a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e42f545663e1a65fb56c3630f415bab078c3925def38ac91caa9032fe8584a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e42f545663e1a65fb56c3630f415bab078c3925def38ac91caa9032fe8584a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Basil Al Sayed\"},\"description\":\"A journalist writer and editor with a master's degree in electronic journalism who has received several training courses in investigative journalism, attended the team (Watan) since 2017, and previously worked for many news websites, specializing in social media journalism and networking sites and measuring Arab and global feedback on important events. Supervising the organization of several training workshops for junior and recent graduating journalists to acquire the necessary skills to work in the field of journalism and information, provide the knowledge and skills needed for participants and train them in how to prepare press reports, as well as to film news reports and prepare the content of television programmes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Baselnagareg\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/basil\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control - Watan","description":"Saudi Arabia imposes severe penalties\u2014including 100,000 riyal fines and 10-year bans\u2014on unauthorized pilgrims.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control","og_description":"Saudi Arabia imposes severe penalties\u2014including 100,000 riyal fines and 10-year bans\u2014on unauthorized pilgrims.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/","og_site_name":"Watan","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watanserbusa","article_published_time":"2025-05-02T20:25:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/89-4.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Basil Al Sayed","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Baselnagareg","twitter_site":"@watanserb_news","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Basil Al Sayed","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/"},"author":{"name":"Basil Al Sayed","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/09f5e22905d538fb4f2b40000264bf0b"},"headline":"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control","datePublished":"2025-05-02T20:25:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/"},"wordCount":342,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/89-4.jpg","keywords":["Saudi Arabia","Saudi authorities","The Hajj season"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/","url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/","name":"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control - Watan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/89-4.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-02T20:25:41+00:00","description":"Saudi Arabia imposes severe penalties\u2014including 100,000 riyal fines and 10-year bans\u2014on unauthorized pilgrims.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/89-4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/89-4.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"caption":"Hajj restrictions Saudi Arabia"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/02\/hajj-under-restriction-saudi-arabia-enforces-harsh-penalties-and-tight-control\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hajj Under Restriction: Saudi Arabia Enforces Harsh Penalties and Tight Control"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/","name":"Watan","description":"Your trusted source for global Arab news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"watanserb","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#organization","name":"Watan News LLC","url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/watan.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/watan.png","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Watan News LLC"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watanserbusa","https:\/\/x.com\/watanserb_news","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/watanserb\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/71589400\/admin\/feed\/posts\/","https:\/\/t.me\/watanserb","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCuioSm-SG28IHcy8muZn2wg","https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.goodbarber.watan&hl=en_US&gl=US","https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/---\/id1242712408"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/09f5e22905d538fb4f2b40000264bf0b","name":"Basil Al Sayed","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e42f545663e1a65fb56c3630f415bab078c3925def38ac91caa9032fe8584a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e42f545663e1a65fb56c3630f415bab078c3925def38ac91caa9032fe8584a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e42f545663e1a65fb56c3630f415bab078c3925def38ac91caa9032fe8584a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Basil Al Sayed"},"description":"A journalist writer and editor with a master's degree in electronic journalism who has received several training courses in investigative journalism, attended the team (Watan) since 2017, and previously worked for many news websites, specializing in social media journalism and networking sites and measuring Arab and global feedback on important events. Supervising the organization of several training workshops for junior and recent graduating journalists to acquire the necessary skills to work in the field of journalism and information, provide the knowledge and skills needed for participants and train them in how to prepare press reports, as well as to film news reports and prepare the content of television programmes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/Baselnagareg"],"url":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/author\/basil\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}