Death penalty of 2 Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia a lesson for us: Shama Obaid

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid Islam has commented that the incident of the execution of the death penalty of two Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia is a big lesson for Bangladesh. She has advised the Bangladeshis staying abroad to abide by the laws of the concerned country.

The State Minister said these words in reply to the questions of journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the afternoon on Saturday (October 17).

When asked whether the Bangladesh government had been informed earlier about the execution of the death penalty of the two Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia, Shama Obaid said that the government has not yet received any formal information in this regard. However a letter has been given to the Saudi authorities to know the details.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs said that according to the information received from the labour wing of the Bangladesh mission in Saudi Arabia, there was an allegation of being engaged in ‘adultery’ inside a mosque of Makkah against those two Bangladeshis. This is considered a serious crime in Saudi law. It has been informed that the court has taken measures under that law. However the Bangladesh government has not formally received anything in this regard.

Shama Obaid said, “I can say from the experience of the past that Saudi Arabia has its own legal framework. If anyone commits a heinous unjust act according to that legal framework, then the accused persons get punishment according to that law.”

She further said, “The death penalty of two Bangladeshis in Saudi is a big lesson for us.”

The State Minister mentioned that after receiving the reply to the letter of the Saudi authorities, it will be known how the bodies of the two Bangladeshis whose death penalty has been executed can be brought back to the country.

The Saudi Press Agency informed the news of the execution of the death penalty of the two Bangladeshis on last Wednesday citing the Ministry of Interior of the country. They are Nazrul Islam and Sweetie Akhtar.

According to the report of the Middle East-based media Gulf News, the Saudi security forces arrested them on the allegation of being engaged in immoral and indecent acts in a mosque of Makkah. After the primary investigation charges were brought against them and they were sent to the court. It has been mentioned in the report that the court gave them the death penalty under the provision of ‘Tazir’ or the discretionary punishment of the judge under the Shariah law. After the higher judicial authorities upheld the verdict the punishment was executed by the royal order.

On the other hand, a source of the Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah has informed that the Saudi authorities did not formally inform Bangladesh anything before the execution of the death penalty. The matter came to their notice after the news was published in the media. After that a letter was sent to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to know the details of the incident.

According to Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, if a citizen of any country is arrested abroad, the detaining country has to inform the consulate of his country at the request of the prisoner and give the opportunity of consular assistance. However it is still not clear whether those two Bangladeshis had requested to inform the consulate.