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শনিবার, ২৪ অক্টোবর ২০২৬
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Friday, 23rd October 2026
Around 7,500 Bangladeshis Still Detained in Saudi Prisons, Says State Minister
23 October 2026 19:10 PM
NEWS DESK
Around 7,500 Bangladeshis remain detained in prisons across Saudi Arabia, and the Bangladesh government is working to address their cases, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has said.
She made the remarks on Friday while speaking to journalists at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, after handing over the body of Bangladeshi worker Md Shahed Ahmed, who was killed in an attack in Saudi Arabia, to his family.
Shahed’s body arrived in Dhaka at around 8:12 am on Friday from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The state minister received the body at Cargo Gate 8 before it was handed over to his relatives.
Shahed was killed in an attack at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on October 10. His home was in Madla village in Shajahanpur upazila of Bogura district. He had been working as a plumber on a project in Jeddah under a Saudi contracting company.
Shama Obaed said the bodies of 11 Bangladeshis killed in conflicts in the Middle East over the past six months had been brought back to Bangladesh. Arrangements were underway to repatriate the remains of others, she added.
The government would also ensure that financial assistance reached Shahed’s family promptly, she said.
Two Bangladeshis Executed Without Prior Notice
Meanwhile, two Bangladeshi nationals, Nazrul Islam Abdul Bashir and Sweety Akter, were recently executed in Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities did not inform the Bangladesh Embassy or consulate in advance, nor did they formally notify the diplomatic mission after carrying out the executions.
The information came to light in a confidential letter sent on October 18 by the Labour Welfare Wing of the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
According to the letter, reports published by several Saudi media outlets, citing a statement from the Saudi Interior Ministry on October 14, revealed that the two Bangladeshis had been executed.
The Saudi Interior Ministry’s statement said the executions took place in the Makkah region. The two had been accused of violating the sanctity of a mosque in the holy city of Makkah by engaging in what authorities described as immoral acts inside the premises.
The consulate’s letter said Saudi authorities had not provided detailed information about the cases.
Names Appeared on Detention List
According to the letter, the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah had requested information from the Saudi Foreign Ministry about Bangladeshi nationals detained in prisons across western Saudi Arabia.
A list received on September 30 included the names of Nazrul and Sweety, but contained no information about their sentences.
Both had worked as cleaners for a company called Al Majal in Saudi Arabia.
According to the list, Nazrul was detained on August 1, 2023, on allegations of information technology-related offences. Sweety was detained the following day on an adultery charge.
Nazrul was held at the Jeddah Correctional Facility, while Sweety was detained at the Jeddah women’s prison.
The consulate’s letter also noted that there had been no previous known cases of Bangladeshi nationals receiving the death penalty in Saudi Arabia for information technology-related offences or adultery.
Hundreds Detained in Western Saudi Arabia
The consulate’s letter further stated that 306 Bangladeshis were being held in prisons across western Saudi Arabia in connection with various cases involving alleged moral offences.
Of them, 147 had received prison sentences ranging from one month to 15 years.
The cases have raised concerns over the welfare of Bangladeshi migrant workers detained in Saudi Arabia and the need for timely communication between Saudi authorities and Bangladeshi diplomatic missions regarding arrests, legal proceedings and executions.
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