Bangladesh has formally sought an explanation from Saudi Arabia regarding why Dhaka was kept in the dark about the execution of two Bangladeshi nationals whose death sentences were omitted from regular prisoner lists provided by Riyadh. The diplomatic inquiry was raised on Monday during a meeting in Jeddah between Bangladesh Consul General Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain and Farid bin Saad Al-Seheri, Director General of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka, the prison roster sent by the Saudi authorities on September 30 included the names of Nazrul Islam, hailing from Brahmanbaria, and Sweety Akhter, from Tangail, both of whom had arrived in Saudi Arabia in late 2022 to work as cleaners for Al-Majal Company. While the list noted specific allegations against them—stating that Nazrul was implicated in cybercrime while detained at the Jeddah Correctional Facility and Sweety in adultery while held at the Jeddah Women's Prison—it completely withheld any information regarding their sentencing or impending executions. Both individuals were subsequently arrested on August 1 and August 2, 2023, respectively.
During Monday's cordial yet tense discussions in Jeddah, the Saudi official failed to provide a satisfactory response when pressed on why the capital punishment details were concealed from the official prisoner list. The Saudi side maintained that the two defendants underwent due judicial proceedings following their 2023 arrest, culminating in a death sentence upheld by a 13-member appellate panel and executed in accordance with court verdicts. In response, the Bangladesh Consul General underscored that had the Jeddah mission been informed of the death sentences, diplomatic channels could have intervened to secure consular protection and legal recourse.
Parallel to the verbal queries, Bangladesh submitted another diplomatic note to Saudi Arabia on Monday, demanding comprehensive case details, the chronology of the judicial proceedings, and verification of whether the executed nationals were afforded any opportunity to defend themselves. This follows earlier diplomatic notes delivered to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jeddah on October 15 and reiterated to the Saudi Ambassador in Dhaka on October 18, right after the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced the executions on October 14 citing the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
Addressing journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday afternoon, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir expressed profound disappointment over the manner in which the executions were carried out without prior notification. Acknowledging a clear lapse in the diplomatic communication and information-sharing framework between the two nations, the state minister reiterated that formal explanations and complete records have been urgently requested from Saudi authorities. Diplomatic sources in Dhaka, Riyadh, and Jeddah noted that these executions mark an unprecedented severity, as previous convictions involving cybercrimes or moral infractions among the 306 detained Bangladeshis in western Saudi prisons typically resulted in custodial sentences ranging from one month to 15 years.
