OTEDOLA BRIDGE, LAGOS TANKER FIRE PUT-OFF, TRAFFIC RESTORED. (PHOTO).
Saudi authorities have executed two Bangladeshi nationals for allegedly committing indecent acts inside a mosque in the holy city of Mecca.
According to a statement from the Interior Ministry, reported by Gulf News and other Middle Eastern outlets on Friday, the executions of Nazrul Islam Abdul Bashir and Siti Akhtar were carried out in the Mecca region on Wednesday, October 14.
The pair were arrested for reportedly engaging in "immoral and obscene acts" that desecrated the sanctity of the mosque. After investigation and indictment, a court sentenced them to death under Ta'zir — a discretionary punishment in Islamic law where judges weigh the gravity and circumstances of an offense.
The ministry said the sentence was reviewed by higher judicial authorities and enforced by royal decree in line with Sharia law, as a demonstration of the Kingdom's resolve to protect the sanctity of mosques.
However, the case has sparked diplomatic concerns. An official at the Bangladeshi consulate told Prothom Alo that Riyadh did not notify them in advance. The mission only learned of the executions through media reports and has since written to Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry requesting full details.
Officials noted that both nations are signatories to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which requires prompt notification of a foreign national's arrest, and described the speed of arrest to execution as highly unusual. The defendants' counsel also reportedly never contacted the embassy.
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