Saudi Arabia Yet to Share New Information on Two Executed Bangladeshis

Saudi Arabia has yet to provide fresh information regarding the execution of two Bangladeshi nationals, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on Friday.

She made the remarks while speaking to journalists after the body of Bangladeshi worker Md Shahed Ahmed, who was killed in a missile attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, was handed over to his family.

Shama said around 7,500 Bangladeshis were currently detained in Saudi prisons, adding that the government was working to resolve their cases.

“Over the past six months, the bodies of 11 Bangladeshis killed in conflicts in the Middle East have been brought back home. Efforts are underway to repatriate the remaining bodies,” she said.

She also assured Shahed’s family that they would receive financial assistance from the government soon.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia executed two Bangladeshi nationals, Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Suety Akhter, whose name is spelled Sweety Akhtar by her family, according to a confidential document sent by the Labour Welfare Wing of the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment on October 18.

The document stated that Saudi authorities had neither notified the Bangladesh embassy or consulate in advance of the executions nor provided detailed information about the two individuals.

According to the document, the consulate had sought information from the Saudi foreign ministry about Bangladeshi nationals detained in prisons across western Saudi Arabia. A list received on September 30 included the names of Nazrul and Sweety but did not specify their sentences.

The two reportedly worked as cleaners for a Saudi company named Al Majal. The list indicated that Nazrul was detained on August 1, 2023, over alleged information technology-related offences, while Sweety was arrested the following day on an adultery charge.

Nazrul was held at the Jeddah Correctional Facility, while Sweety was detained at Jeddah Women’s Prison.

The consulate’s letter noted that the list contained no information about the sentences imposed on either individual. It also stated that there was no known precedent of Bangladeshi nationals receiving death sentences in Saudi Arabia for information technology-related offences or adultery.

The document further revealed that 306 Bangladeshis were being held in prisons across western Saudi Arabia in connection with various morality-related cases. Of them, 147 had been sentenced to prison terms ranging from one month to 15 years.