Saudi Arabia: Ministry says no criminal suspicions around Dakar Rally explosion
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry has said that there are no criminal suspicions around a blast at the Dakar Rally following an initial investigation into the incident, despite international claims that the explosion was a "terrorist attack".
In a statement, the ministry said it was coordinating with France to share evidence around the blast, which left 61-year-old French rally driver and competitor Philippe Boutron, of the Sodicars Racing team, severely injured.
Two days before the motorsport event started in Saudi Arabia on 1 January, a car carrying six passengers from the Sodicars Racing team exploded outside the Donatello hotel in the coastal city of Jeddah.
According to Sodicars Racing, Boutron's legs were "burnt and torn," and they were concerned about doctors amputating both legs to save his life. He is being treated at a military hospital near Paris, where he has just emerged from a medically induced coma.
The other passengers were not hurt. Richard Gonzalez, chairman of Sodicars Racing, said that an explosive device was under the vehicle.
"I saw everything. It was a deliberate act; there's no doubt about it," Gonzalez said.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said they had told the organisers of Dakar Rally and Saudi officials to be "very transparent on what had happened because there were hypotheses that it was a terrorist attack".
He added that France was considering cancelling the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, which was moved to the Arabian peninsula in 2020, prompting accusations of sportswashing.
"We thought that perhaps it was better to suspend this sporting event," Le Drian said on Friday of this year's race, which is continuing.
However, Dakar director David Castera has ruled out suspending the event, telling Franceinfo radio that "the question is not being raised at the moment," adding that necessary safety measures had been put in place.
Accusations of a cover-up
French prosecutors opened an investigation into the explosion on Tuesday.
France's secret services were tasked with scrutinising claims of an attempted "cover-up" to avoid embarrassment by Saudi authorities, the Times newspaper reported.
The Dakar Rally has been plagued with difficulties since it was initiated in 1978, originally running between Paris and the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
The event was cancelled in 2008 following security threats in the Sahel region. It was moved to South America from 2009 to 2019. Despite criticism from public figures of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses, the competition was moved to the kingdom in 2020.
Human Rights Watch has described Saudi Arabia's hosting of the Dakar Rally, which runs until 14 January, as part of an attempt by de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to whitewash the kingdom's "abusive rights reputation using large-scale events, with highly controlled environments, to show a progressive face of the kingdom".
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