Bangladesh demands answers after Saudi Arabia secretly executed two Bangladeshis over an alleged 'indecent act' in a Mecca mosque
The repatriated bodies of Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar, executed in Saudi Arabia on October 14 without Bangladesh ever being notified of their death sentences.Muslim pilgrims in Mecca, where Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar were secretly executed on October 14 — their families never notified of the death sentences.
Nazrul Islam, 22, and Siti Akhtar were executed on October 14, yet a prisoner list sent to Bangladesh's Jeddah consulate on September 30 carried no mention of any death sentences. Nazrul was detained in August 2023 under cybercrime law, and Akhtar was held a day later on adultery charges. His family only learned of his death through media reports. Foreign affairs minister Humaiun Kobir says Riyadh has yet to offer any explanation.
To finance Nazrul's journey to Saudi Arabia as a cleaner, his father Abdul Basir took out a loan of Tk 7 lakh.
His mother, Rahima, said he phoned home from prison every Sunday.
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis work in Saudi Arabia, sending home vital remittances.
