Outrage is mounting over Saudi Arabia's decision to execute two Bangladeshi nationals who were accused of committing immoral acts inside a mosque located in the holy city of Mecca. The capital punishments have triggered widespread questions regarding the nature of the alleged offenses, the secrecy and fairness of the judicial proceedings, and whether Bangladeshi authorities were notified in advance or could have intervened to prevent the deaths.
According to reports from Saudi media citing the Interior Ministry, the two individuals were identified as Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar. They were put to death on October 14 under discretionary ta'zir punishments. Riyadh provided virtually no public details regarding the exact nature of the behavior, when the arrests occurred, or how the trials were conducted, leaving the public to rely on sparse official statements and unverified social media speculation.
While some online claims suggested the pair were a couple and had engaged in kissing inside the mosque, official communication remained opaque. Nazrul's family strongly disputed these narratives. Hailing from Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila in the Chattogram Division, Nazrul had moved to Saudi Arabia in November 2022 and was employed as a cleaner at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Relatives stated he was imprisoned eight months later following an alleged dispute with a Pakistani co-worker, and the family was only notified of his execution three days after it was carried out on October 11.
Relatives, friends, and former educators described Nazrul as polite, well-mannered, and incapable of the acts he was accused of. His father, Abdul Basir, who spent 24 years working in Saudi Arabia himself, maintained that his son was denied a fair trial and demanded justice if the execution occurred without just cause. Regarding Siti Akhtar, little public information exists, and Nazrul's father stated that the family did not know her, though she reportedly worked in the same area.
The lack of transparency has drawn sharp criticism from commentators and human rights advocates worldwide, particularly given Saudi Arabia's status as a prolific user of capital punishment. Although Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated in a 2022 interview that executions had been largely restricted to murder cases, international monitors noted hundreds of executions in recent times, largely for non-violent offenses. Meanwhile, repatriation efforts for the deceased have faced delays due to temporary suspensions in air connectivity between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.