Dhaka asks Saudi ambassador why it was not informed beforehand

The Bangladesh government has sought an explanation from the Saudi ambassador in Dhaka over the execution of two Bangladeshi nationals in Saudi Arabia. It has also asked why Bangladesh was not informed before the executions.

Relevant government sources believe that, although provisions require a country to be notified before its citizens are tried and punished abroad, those provisions were not followed in this case.

Mohammad Nazrul Islam, secretary for bilateral affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met Saudi Ambassador Abdullah ibn Dhafer ibn Ubayya at the state guesthouse Padma on Sunday afternoon.

The meeting began at 3:30 pm and lasted about half an hour. In addition to bilateral relations, the discussion covered the execution of two Bangladeshis in Mecca last week.

Nazrul Islam confirmed the meeting to Prothom Alo on Sunday evening but declined to disclose details of the discussion.

Several senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told this correspondent that a diplomatic note had been handed to the ambassador during the meeting, seeking information about the two Bangladeshis who were executed.

The discussion followed earlier communications between the ministry secretary and the Saudi Embassy on the matter.

The officials said the Saudi ambassador had stated after the meeting that he would seek details from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh and then inform Bangladesh.

The same diplomatic note was sent by the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah to the local office of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Thursday. On Sunday morning, the consulate also formally requested a meeting with a local official of the Saudi foreign ministry.

A source at the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah told this correspondent that the consul general is likely to meet the senior Saudi official within the next day or two.

On Wednesday, several media outlets in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East reported that two Bangladeshis had been executed in the holy city of Mecca over allegations of “indecent activities” in the area of a mosque.

It remains unclear whether Saudi authorities formally informed Bangladesh about the allegations. After the reports were published, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka.