After son’s execution in Saudi Arabia, parents want to see his body just once

Despite spending many years in Saudi Arabia, Abdul Bashir could not improve his family’s financial situation. After returning home in 2020, he took up farming. Hoping for a better life, he borrowed Tk 600,000 and sent his eldest son to Saudi Arabia in late 2022. But just eight months after arriving in the country, his son was arrested. At the time, Tk 450,000 of the loan remained unpaid.

Nearly three years after his son was arrested and imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, Bashir received devastating news last Wednesday, 14 October. He learned that his son had been executed. Since hearing the news, he has felt as though he is no longer truly alive, despite still breathing. Now, his only wish to have his son’s body brought back from Saudi Arabia so that he can see him one last time.

Two Bangladeshi nationals were recently executed in Saudi Arabia after being convicted of committing an immoral act at a mosque in the holy city of Mecca. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) confirmed the executions last Wednesday, citing the country’s Ministry of Interior. The two executed Bangladeshis were identified as Nazrul Islam and Sweety Akhter.

Brahmanbaria Deputy Commissioner Md Abu Sayeed told Prothom Alo that they had learned about the matter and that the district administration would act in accordance with the government’s instructions.

Nazrul Islam, 25, was from a village in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila. He was the eldest son of Abdul Bashir and Rahima Begum. Nazrul was the eldest of two brothers and two sisters. He passed the Dakhil examination from a madrasa in 2020 and subsequently enrolled in the humanities stream at a college in Sadar upazila.

Nazrul’s father had spent 24 years in Saudi Arabia before returning home in 2020. Despite his long years abroad, he had been unable to bring financial stability to the family. After returning, he began farming. Nazrul’s 14-year-old younger brother studies at a local Dakhil madrasa. One of his sisters, aged nine, is in Class Four at a government primary school, while the youngest is four.

Family members said Nazrul went to Saudi Arabia in November 2022 and worked as a cleaner at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Eight months after his arrival, Saudi police arrested him. He remained in prison from then on. The family learned of his arrest a month later.

Nazrul was occasionally allowed to speak to his parents over the phone for a few minutes. Their last conversation was on 11 October, when they spoke for about two to two and a half minutes. Then, at around 7:30pm Bangladesh time last Wednesday, someone called the family from Saudi Arabia and informed them that Nazrul had been executed.

Family members said Nazrul’s aunt, Abeda Begum, 65, fainted upon hearing the news of his execution. She died at around 2am that night.

Nazrul’s relatives and friends remember him as a polite and well-mannered young man. They also claim that the allegations brought against him in Saudi Arabia are inconsistent with his character. They believe a conspiracy was behind the accusations.

Nazrul’s two distant cousins, Mostakim Bhuiyan and Imam Hasan Bhuiyan, told Prothom Alo that Nazrul had developed a dispute with someone while working as a cleaner in Saudi Arabia. He had told his uncle and aunt—his parents—about the matter over the phone. Nazrul had said that the person was a Pakistani national, they added.

They believe that person’s alleged conspiracy led to Nazrul’s fate.

Nazrul’s friend Rahat Bhuiyan said the allegations against him in Saudi Arabia were incompatible with his character. “I cannot believe that he would do something like this,” he said.

Maulana Naimur Rahman, superintendent of the local Dakhil madrasa where Nazrul studied, said Nazrul had been well-behaved and conducted himself properly.

“No one could say that the boy was ill-mannered or bad. I never saw anything in his behaviour while he was in Bangladesh that would suggest what is now being said about him,” he said.

The correspondent visited Nazrul’s home on Monday morning. As he spoke, his father, Abdul Bashir, repeatedly broke down in tears.

Bashir told Prothom Alo that he had borrowed Tk 600,000 from relatives to send his son to Saudi Arabia. During the first seven to eight months, Nazrul sent home around Tk 150,000. He had then spent three years in prison in Saudi Arabia.

“After hearing about my son’s death like this, my sister also suddenly died of a heart attack. Now, I am just waiting to see my son’s body,” he said.

Overcome with grief at the loss of her son, Rahima Begum has been crying continuously for the past several days.

“My son used to call once every month. We would speak for one or two minutes. The allegations against my son are false. I want to see my son’s body one last time,” she said.