Bangladesh says Saudi Arabia did not notify it before executing two of its citizens on October 14. Officials now say an earlier prisoner list contained their names but omitted the death sentences. Dhaka has asked the Saudi ambassador for identity, charge and trial details, while gathering information from its mission about consular assistance.
Bangladesh says Saudi Arabia did not notify it before executing two Bangladeshi citizens on October 14. Dhaka has sought information about the cases. The diplomatic dispute concerns whether its mission received enough information to provide consular assistance before the sentences were carried out.[1], [2]
Bangladeshi officials said on October 19 that the two names appeared on a prisoner list supplied in September to the consulate general in Jeddah, a Saudi city. A consular official said the list omitted the verdicts. One entry gave adultery as the alleged offence and another used an abbreviation. The official said those entries alone could not be linked to the executions. The underlying allegations have not been independently established.[1]
A foreign ministry official said the list covered about 2,500 prisoners and the mission prioritised emergencies and vulnerable people. Another official described prison visits and assistance that had reduced sentences, but said neither executed citizen had requested help. On Sunday, the Saudi ambassador received a printed copy of an earlier electronic diplomatic note requesting identity, charge and trial details. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry has asked its mission for all available information to establish where assistance failed.[1]
