Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Iranian Fatwa to Kill Judge Jirani

Judge Mohammed al-Jirani. Asharq Al-Awsat file photo
Judge Mohammed al-Jirani. Asharq Al-Awsat file photo
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Iranian Fatwa to Kill Judge Jirani

Judge Mohammed al-Jirani. Asharq Al-Awsat file photo
Judge Mohammed al-Jirani. Asharq Al-Awsat file photo

A “terrorist figure in Iran” had given direct orders in a form of Fatwa to kill Saudi judge Mohammed al-Jirani 48 hours after his kidnapping more than a year ago in Qatif Governorate, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned.

Sources told the newspaper that the abductors were unable to hide Jirani for long. So, they resorted to the assistance of an Iranian cleric, who issued the fatwa for the judge’s murder.

Under direct orders from Iran, the kidnapping cell pushed Jirani into a crater in a farm in an area called Salhiya in Awamiya, shot him twice in his chest and then buried him, the sources said.

Spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior Major General Mansour al-Turki said in a press conference earlier this week that there is support from outside Saudi Arabia for terrorist militias, especially media support.

Everyone is aware of Iran’s role in backing terrorist groups, he said.

“Terrorism sponsors avoid leaving evidence of their involvement to not be condemned internationally however they form proxy groups to carry out terrorist acts that are supported and financed by them, like the Houthi militias in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” Turki added.

Jirani, a judge at the Department of Endowments and Inheritances, was kidnapped in December 2016 in front of his home in the town of Tarout in Qatif.

Saudi security forces have killed one of the terrorists involved in the abduction and arrested his half-brother.



Saudi Arabia Lauds Lebanese Government Efforts to Uphold Country’s Sovereignty

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs logo
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs logo
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Saudi Arabia Lauds Lebanese Government Efforts to Uphold Country’s Sovereignty

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs logo
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs logo

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom’s sincere condolences to Lebanon over the death and injury of Lebanese army personnel while performing their duties in southern Lebanon.

The Kingdom affirmed its solidarity with Lebanon’s government and people.

It also praised the efforts of the Lebanese army to uphold the Lebanese government’s sovereignty over all the country’s territory, in a manner that ensures its security and stability and contributes to the prosperity of Lebanon and its people.

Munition in an arms depot in south Lebanon exploded Saturday as army experts were dismantling them, killing six of them and wounding several others, the army said.

The incident occurred on the edge of the southern village of Zibqin in Tyre province, the army said.

On Thursday, the Lebanese cabinet voted in favor of a US-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah and implement a ceasefire with Israel. The Lebanese government asked the national army to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons by the end of the year.