Two Bangladeshis Executed in Mecca: Questions of Process, Notification and Migrant Protection

Saudi Arabia executed two Bangladeshi nationals on 14 October after convicting them of what it called "immoral acts" inside a mosque in Mecca. The case has raised questions in Dhaka about transparency and consular access.

What Saudi authorities say
The Interior Ministry named the two as Nazerul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar. The court found the charges proven and sentenced them to death under ta'zir, a discretionary punishment under Islamic law.

The ministry said the sentences were upheld by the highest court and authorized by royal decree, and cited the gravity of violating the sanctity of both time and place. It also warned that anyone committing similar offences would face punishment.

What remains unclear
The public record is thin. The act itself was not specified. It is not confirmed whether the two were married to each other. Details of the trial, including legal representation, have not been made public.

Dhaka's complaint
The sharpest dispute is over notification. The Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah said it was not told beforehand and has asked Saudi authorities for formal acknowledgement.

A Daily Star investigation adds that the two men were on a list of prisoners Saudi Arabia had shared with the Bangladesh mission, but the list did not mention that they had been sentenced to death.

Dhaka's Foreign Ministry has asked the mission to provide all the information so the government can identify where it failed.

Legal obligations are relevant here. Both countries are parties to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, whose Article 36 requires a detaining state to notify the consulate at the detainee's request and allow consular assistance. Whether the two asked for that is not stated in the reports I found.

The wider pattern
This is not an isolated case. Saudi Arabia carried out 356 executions in 2025, behind only China and Iran, according to Amnesty International, and has executed more than 170 people so far this year, according to the Interior Ministry.

Rights groups have raised concerns about the death penalty's application and the transparency of Saudi judicial proceedings. Migrant workers have faced similar situations before.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia executed Indonesian worker Tuty Tursilawati without consular notification, after which Indonesia pressed for a mandatory notification agreement.

The way forward (analysis)
Three steps stand out for Bangladesh and other labour-sending states, including African ones with large Gulf diaspora communities:

Seek a formal notification arrangement. Prompt notice of arrest, charge, sentence and execution date should be standard in any bilateral labour or consular agreement.

Audit prisoner lists.
The omission of death sentences from the list shows that a name on a list is not enough; missions need case-by-case status and legal access.

Fund legal aid early. Consular legal support at arrest, before conviction, is far more effective than appeals for clemency afterwards.

Saudi Arabia describes the executions as lawful enforcement of its judicial system and the protection of a holy site. Critics counter that opaque proceedings and missing notification undermine that claim. Both positions will be tested by whether Riyadh answers Dhaka's request for details.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/Science communicator, Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,United States Institute of Peace (USIP), [email protected] +233555275880

Sources: Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, Associated Press (via KSAT and U.S. News), SCMP, The Week, Outlook India, Global Voices. The "way forward" section is analysis, not reporting.