Bangladesh is demanding answers after Saudi Arabia executed two of its citizens without advance notice to their country’s diplomatic mission, according to Bangladeshi officials.
The executions took place on October 14 in the Mecca region. Saudi authorities said the pair had been convicted of what they described as “indecent acts” inside a mosque. The public statement did not explain precisely what happened.
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry identified them as Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar. It said their death sentences became final following judicial review and were carried out after a royal order authorised the executions.
A husband kissed the forehead of his newly-wed wife in the mosque compound. And they were beheaded and sent back to their country in coffins. And you wonder how come a dozen pilots emerged from this country who didn’t know how to land aircrafts https://t.co/Y3UcTtG8dX
— Gabbar (@GabbbarSingh) October 19, 2026
Bangladesh knew they were prisoners, but not that they faced execution
The communication failure is now central to Dhaka’s response.
According to The Daily Star, Saudi authorities had included both names in a prisoner list shared with Bangladesh’s mission. However, the list did not disclose their death sentences. The consulate in Jeddah had requested information about Bangladeshi prisoners in September.
Officials said the information provided was insufficient to identify the cases as requiring urgent intervention. Bangladesh learned that the executions had happened on October 14, after the sentences had been carried out.
Foreign Minister Humaiun Kobir said on October 19 that Bangladesh had sought an explanation for the breakdown in information sharing and was discussing the matter with Saudi Arabia.
What Saudi authorities have said
The Interior Ministry said the sentences were imposed under ta’zir, a category of discretionary punishment under Islamic law. Its explanation cited the seriousness of the offence and the violation of the mosque’s sanctity.
That account establishes the Saudi government’s stated justification. It does not provide a detailed public account of the evidence or the circumstances surrounding the alleged acts.
Bangladesh has formally requested further information. On October 18, the Saudi ambassador in Dhaka was handed a physical copy of a diplomatic note previously sent electronically.
As of the October 19 reporting, Bangladeshi officials were still seeking a full account. The foreign ministry had also asked its mission to gather the records needed to establish where communication and consular follow-up had failed.
