Bangladesh is seeking to establish whether the consular rights of two nationals executed in Saudi Arabia were respected, including their access to legal assistance and the opportunity to contact their diplomatic mission, under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
The executions have raised concerns over the protection of Bangladeshi citizens facing capital punishment abroad, particularly whether the authorities in Dhaka were informed in time to provide consular support.
Foreign Ministry Secretary for Bilateral Affairs Md Nazrul Islam summoned Saudi Ambassador
Abdullah Zafar H. bin Abiyah to the state guesthouse Padma on Sunday and sought a detailed explanation of the cases. The ministry also handed the ambassador a diplomatic letter requesting information, senior foreign ministry officials said.
The move followed an announcement by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), citing the kingdom’s interior ministry, that the death sentences of two Bangladeshis, Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar, had been carried out in Makkah on 14 October.
Bangladesh said it had not received formal notification of the executions before seeking clarification from Riyadh.
The government is awaiting a response to establish the circumstances of the cases, assess whether consular procedures were followed and determine whether the bodies could be repatriated.
According to the Saudi Interior Ministry, the two were arrested over alleged indecent or immoral acts inside a mosque in Makkah.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on Saturday that Bangladesh had written to Saudi authorities seeking all relevant details.
Information received through the labour wing of Bangladesh’s mission in Saudi Arabia indicated that the two nationals had been accused of engaging in sexual activity inside a mosque, she said.
Saudi authorities reportedly treated the alleged conduct as a serious offence, and the cases proceeded through the kingdom’s judicial system.
Gulf News reported that the pair were arrested by Saudi security forces, investigated and referred to court. Reports said the sentences were imposed under ta’zir, a category of punishment under Islamic jurisprudence that allows judicial discretion for offences not subject to fixed penalties.
However, Bangladesh has not publicly disclosed the complete charges, the evidence presented in court, the dates of the trials or appeals, whether the defendants had legal representation, or the precise legal basis for the capital sentences.
Shama said Dhaka would be better placed to comment after receiving Riyadh’s response. She described the incident as a major lesson for Bangladesh, while emphasising that the full facts must be established before conclusions are drawn.
Consular rights under scrutiny
The central diplomatic question is whether the two Bangladeshis were informed of their consular rights and whether Bangladesh’s mission was notified in time to offer assistance.
Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, provides a framework for communication between detained foreign nationals and their consular representatives. It allows consular officers to communicate with and have access to their nationals, subject to the convention’s provisions.
Where a detained foreign national requests consular assistance, the authorities of the receiving state must inform the relevant consular post without delay. Detained individuals must also be informed promptly of their rights under the article.
Consular officers may visit detained nationals, communicate with them and help arrange legal representation, subject to the convention’s conditions. Such safeguards are particularly significant in capital cases, where the consequences of a conviction are irreversible.
Both Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia are parties to the convention, making its provisions relevant to an examination of how the cases were handled.
However, Article 36 does not impose a blanket requirement for a foreign national’s government to receive advance notice of every execution.
Whether any breach occurred would depend on the circumstances, including whether the defendants were informed of their consular rights, whether they requested assistance and whether the applicable obligations were fulfilled.
Bangladesh’s immediate priority is to obtain the court records, the legal grounds for the sentences, details of any appeals and information about the circumstances of the executions. It also needs to establish what assistance its mission was able to provide and whether consular notification requirements were observed.
Repatriation remains uncertain
The fate of the bodies is another issue awaiting clarification from Riyadh.
Shama Obaed said arrangements for repatriation could be considered after Saudi Arabia responds to Bangladesh’s formal requests.
Dhaka is therefore seeking both an account of the judicial proceedings and clarification of whether the remains can be returned to the families in Bangladesh.