Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 5 -- Saudi Arabia has confirmed it blocked Sudan's ICC-indicted president Omar al Bashir from cross its air space to attend Hassan Rouhani's inauguration in Iran.

 But the Saudi Press Agency says this was only because Sudan did not provide notice, not because of the ICC. Statement here, in Arabic; Google translate below.

  Human Rights Watch made much of Saudi's block, if only to brag that it made Bashir "flee" from Nigeria. But as Inner City Press has noted, HRW didn't say anything when UN Peacekeeping's Herve Ladsous met in July with Bashir. HRW is soft on the UN -- and, in celebrating Saudi Arabia's block, soft on Saudi.

Here is the Google Translate in to English, h/t Wasil Ali

General Authority for Civil Aviation: Prevent plane carrying Sudan's president before entering Saudi airspace for lack of access to permit transit to be disciplined did not disclose the pilot of the plane that the board president only after they returned heading to Khartoum,

Jeddah 27 Ramadan 1434 AH corresponding to August 5, 2013, SPA

said the General Authority for Civil Aviation in response to what some of the media Alam yesterday that the civil aviation authorities in Saudi prevented the plane eyeball to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Sudan from crossing the atmosphere of the Kingdom, "The General Authority for Civil Aviation, according to its records and recordings would like to clarify that it prevented allow A private jet yesterday to cross the atmosphere Kingdom on a journey between two airports Khartoum and Tehran international before entering Saudi airspace for not having a permit to transit the desired systemic. "

The Commission emphasized in a press release today that it has not been notified Center air traffic control in the Kingdom by air traffic controllers at Khartoum Airport Baqlaa plane from Khartoum airport or the date of entry into the atmosphere Arabia as is the case internationally, and having returned the plane heading to Khartoum airport disclosed then the commander of the aircraft that on board the President of the Republic of Sudan.

adding that the government of Sudan did not make a formal request for a permit diplomat of the aircraft, which will be reduced His Excellency the President, either by the Saudi Embassy in Khartoum or the Sudanese embassy in Riyadh, according to the procedures applicable internationally need to request permission before (48) hours prior to flight departure for flights diplomacy is scheduled when crossing the atmosphere countries in the itinerary plane.

Authority said, "The aviation regulations Civil Saudi Arabia, as well as systems, the International Civil Aviation requires for aircraft permits to cross the airspace and permits landing at their airports and is considered non-compliance with this violation of those regulations, the plane that was used to have temporary permits to land at UK airports International for personal use only the owner does not allow authorization granted to it leased to others, and that the plane used registered outside the Kingdom, which is for private use does not permit regulations in the state that recorded the plane or in the Kingdom used for commercial purposes. "

and stressed the General Authority for Civil Aviation as it describes what happened stresses at the same time it is not there any other reasons prevented authorization aircraft to cross the atmosphere than those mentioned Kingdom.