Dhaka, Oct 25: Bangladesh has sought detailed information from Saudi Arabia about the execution of two of its citizens in the Makkah region, including the charges against them, court verdicts, manner of execution, whereabouts of their bodies and whether they had legal representation during their trials, according to a local media report.
The Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah sent a diplomatic letter to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ branch in Makkah on October 19, seeking answers to six questions, according to a report by Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo published on Saturday.
Bangladesh’s Consul General in Jeddah also raised the matter with a senior Saudi foreign ministry official during a meeting the same day, the report said.
The two Bangladesh nationals, a man and a woman, were executed on October 14, after being convicted of committing an “indecent act” inside a mosque in Makkah.
The diplomatic letter seeks details of the offences, when and where they allegedly took place, the dates of arrest and certified copies of the court verdicts, the report said.
It also asks whether the death sentences were carried out by beheading or another method, where the bodies are being kept and whether they will be repatriated to Bangladesh or have already been buried in Saudi Arabia.
Bangladesh has also sought information on whether lawyers represented the two during the investigation and trial and whether they had requested legal assistance, the report said.
According to Prothom Alo, Bangladeshi officials said the country’s missions did not have detailed information about the proceedings leading to the executions, including whether the two had legal representation.
A list of Bangladeshi prisoners shared by Saudi authorities in September reportedly contained allegations of adultery and an information technology-related offence involving the two, but did not specify their sentences.
Dhaka is seeking clarification on the discrepancy between those entries and the Saudi Interior Ministry’s public explanation of the executions.
Bangladesh had also raised the executions with the Saudi ambassador in Dhaka, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
Bangladeshi officials said the government had not received detailed official information from Saudi authorities before learning that the executions had been carried out, the newspaper reported last week.
Bangladesh has also sought information about 20 other citizens whose names appeared on the Saudi prisoner list as convicted but whose sentences were not specified, according to The Daily Star.
Saudi authorities had yet to respond to the consulate’s latest diplomatic communication, Prothom Alo reported, citing Bangladeshi officials. (PTI)
