Authorities in Makkah continued Saturday investigating a suspected ‘illicit' relationship between a hotel worker and an Algerian girl that might have claimed her life after falling to death recently from a Makkah hotel. The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (CIP) in Makkah has formed a joint committee including two members from the Life Violence and Honor Investigation Circuit to investigate the death of the 15-year-old Algerian girl, named Sarah Marees. The girl and her family were on a pilgrimage trip to Makkah in Ramadan. The Bureau ordered the formation of the committee after preliminary investigations suggested that there was an ‘illicit' relationship between Marees and the illegal Yemeni national, Ammar, who worked at the hotel where the incident took place. Inquiries also indicated that the Ammar had been in illicit date (or illegal seclusion, known as ‘Khulwa' in Islamic Shariah) with the girl, in an upper-floor room at the hotel. Sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that Ammar, who is the prime suspect, admitted that he had been in an illicit relationship with the girl during her pilgrimage trip in Ramadan. He also said he had dinner with Marees just a few minutes before her death. Investigators have seized the girl's clothes to determine if they contain evidence against one of the men who was implicated in the matter and sent them to the forensic laboratory. Sources indicated that two workers fought over Marees, which led her to escape and jump to her death from the 16th floor to the roof of an adjacent hotel. Authorities immediately cordoned off the area and apprehended the two workers. Sources also said the Criminal Investigations Department in Makkah is looking for a third suspect, thought to be a Bangladeshi, who fled the scene. Security forces have already arrested three Bangladeshis who are being investigated to determine if they were connected to the incident. Sources said investigators are waiting for reports from forensic authorities, who received an official letter for the autopsy of the deceased girl. It is expected that the results will be provided in two days. Abu Madyan Al-Khateeb, the girl's guardian, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette the girl will be buried in Makkah after doctors finish determining the causes of her death. He said he would soon meet with an official from the BIP for a briefing on the investigation. Al-Khateeb has been very critical of the hotel's employees, from the management to the cleaners, and claimed they enter guests' rooms without permission. He said he informed the manager when Marees disappeared, but the man did not report the matter to police or take precautionary measures. The guardian, a retired oil exploration engineer, said he will hire a lawyer to follow the case and plans to leave Saudi Arabia in a few days because he has business commitments in France. Marees had been trained in fighting skills about five years ago and knew little Arabic although she could recite several chapters of the Holy Qur'an, he said. Maj. Abdul Mohsin Al-Maiman, Makkah Police spokesman denied Algerian media reports that the dead girl's relatives, Algerian Umrah pilgrims, were forced to leave the country. “Quite the opposite, the security forces always receive directives from the Ministry of Interior to spare no effort in serving the guests of Allah to enable them to perform their rituals in ease and comfort,” he said. “This shows that what was published by the Algerian papers is false. Security men have nothing to do with the departure of the Umrah pilgrims,” he said. Saleh Atiyah, the Algerian consul general in Jeddah, also denied the reports. He confirmed to Okaz/Saudi Gazette that all Algerian pilgrims have left according to their flight schedules, without pressure from anyone, except for Marees's relatives, who are staying in the Kingdom because of the incident.
