Two Bangladeshis executed in Saudi Arabia without notice; fears for 20 other convicts

Two Bangladeshi nationals were sentenced to death and executed in Saudi Arabia without any announcement. The news has caused a major stir in the diplomatic circles of both countries. A big question now hangs over the future and sentences of the remaining 20 Bangladeshi prisoners held in different Saudi jails. In the official list the Saudi administration gave the Bangladesh mission, these prisoners are marked "Convicted", but the column for the sentence they received has been left entirely blank.

According to a special report, the initial list sent by Saudi Arabia also carried the names of Nazrul Islam and Sweety Akhter. Even so, both were executed without prior notice and with diplomats kept in the dark. The news has caused a wave of anger in Bangladesh. Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry has asked directly why the concerned country's embassy was not officially informed before a citizen was sentenced to death and the sentence carried out.

Early reports said Nazrul Islam and Sweety Akhter were husband and wife, and that Saudi police had accused them of a serious charge of immoral conduct within the precincts of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The families of both have rejected all these allegations outright. Relatives say there was no marital relationship between Nazrul and Sweety. Both worked for the same cleaning company (Al-Majal Company) in Saudi Arabia.

Nazrul's family claims that after a quarrel at the workplace, a colleague plotted against him and he was framed in a false case. According to Sweety Akhter's family, she was arrested in August 2023 after a dispute at work. The families of both victims have also made the serious allegation that during the court proceedings they got neither a lawyer to present their case nor any chance of a fair hearing.

Saudi Arabia handed the Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah a list of 2,461 Bangladeshi prisoners on September 30. On close scrutiny, 22 prisoners were found marked "Convicted". Strikingly, however, the columns giving the summary of the verdict, the length of the sentence and the nature of the sentence were entirely blank. Two of these 22 have already been executed, so there is great uncertainty and fear about the condition of the other 20. The Bangladesh government and the prisoners' families fear that these 20 too may be executed quietly.

According to information from the Saudi administration, the 22 Bangladeshis face extremely serious cases. Eight are accused of murder, five of drug trafficking and five of violating personal rights. Two cases involve violations of Saudi law, one relates to cybercrime and one to adultery. The prisoners are currently held in Jeddah's Dhahban Prison, Shumaisi Prison, Jeddah Central Prison, as well as in Najran, Khamis, Al-Baha and Hada, and in Jeddah's women's prison.

Given the gravity of the matter, Bangladesh's Consulate General in Jeddah has urgently sought clarification from Saudi officials. On October 19, the Bangladesh mission sent an official diplomatic note to the Jeddah branch of Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry. The note seeks full details of the court cases of all convicted prisoners, copies of the verdicts and accurate information on the sentences given to them.

Under international law and the rules of the Vienna Convention, the embassy of the country concerned must be informed when legal action is taken against a foreign national or a sentence is passed on them. Saudi Arabia did not share this information, and discussion of the issue has therefore begun at the international level too. For now, the Bangladesh government is awaiting an official reply from Saudi Arabia and is trying to arrange legal help for its citizens.