Muslims gather at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for Umrah during Ramadan on March 12, 2025. [Getty Images]
Muslims gather at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for Umrah during Ramadan on March 12, 2025. [Getty Images]

Saudi Arabia has executed two Bangladeshi nationals charged with committing "immoral and obscene acts" inside a mosque in the holy city of Mecca.

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry announced Wednesday that it had carried out the executions of Nazrul Islam Abdul Bashir and Siti Akhtar in the Mecca region, according to Gulf News and other Middle Eastern outlets reporting Friday (local time).

The two were arrested after allegedly committing immoral and obscene acts inside a mosque in Mecca, then investigated and indicted.

The court sentenced them to death under Ta'zir, ruling that their actions were grave and had violated the sanctity of the mosque. Ta'zir is a discretionary form of punishment under Islamic law that weighs the nature and circumstances of the offense in determining the penalty.

According to the Interior Ministry, judicial authorities reviewed and confirmed the ruling before the execution was carried out by royal decree in accordance with Islamic law.

The ministry said the execution demonstrated the Saudi government's commitment to maintaining security and enforcing the law against acts that violate the sanctity of mosques and the dignity of others. It warned that anyone who commits similar acts will face punishment under Islamic law.

However, an official at the Bangladeshi consulate told local outlet Prothom Alo that Saudi authorities had not provided advance official notification of the execution. The consulate learned of it through media reports and sent a letter to Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday requesting detailed information about the case.

Both Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia are parties to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Article 36 of the convention requires that when a foreign national is arrested or detained, the consular post of that person's country must be notified without delay upon the individual's request.

Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry officials said the speed with which the two nationals were executed after their arrest was unusual. Their defense counsel is also reported to have not contacted the Bangladeshi embassy.


bbo@heraldcorp.com