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Bangladesh has sought details of the cases, allegations and court verdicts involving two Bangladeshi nationals who were executed in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah region on October 14.
A diplomatic source said the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh had requested information from Saudi authorities about the cases and the judicial proceedings leading to the executions.
Neither the embassy nor the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah had been aware of the cases before the sentences were carried out, according to the source.
The two Bangladeshis were identified as Nazerul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar, according to a statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Interior and carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Saudi authorities said the two were arrested following allegations of committing what the ministry described as an “immoral act” inside a mosque in Makkah.
After an investigation, they were charged and referred to a competent court.
The court found them guilty and sentenced them to death under ta’zir, a form of discretionary punishment under Islamic law.
The ministry said the court cited the seriousness of the offence and the violation of the sanctity of the place and time.
The verdicts were upheld by the relevant judicial authority before a royal order was issued to implement the sentences.
However, the Saudi authorities’ public statement did not specify the exact nature of the alleged act, identify the mosque or disclose when the two Bangladeshis were arrested.
The Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah separately confirmed that it had not received advance notification of the executions.
It said it had submitted a formal diplomatic note, known as a note verbale, to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting official acknowledgement of the matter.
Bangladesh is now seeking further information to clarify the circumstances surrounding the cases and the judicial process that led to the executions.
