Approximately 7,500 Bangladeshi nationals are presently incarcerated across various regions of Saudi Arabia, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam stated on Friday.

“More or less 7,500 Bangladeshis are in different jails in Saudi Arabia on various charges. We are checking whether the names of the two Bangladeshis who were executed recently are on the list,” she told the media.

The state minister spoke following the arrival of the remains of Bangladeshi worker Md Shahed Ahmed Ashik, who died in a Houthi missile strike targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

His body was delivered to his relatives at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

“We have not received detailed information about the executions. We have officially requested the Saudi authorities to provide copies of the verdicts. We will be able to learn more once we receive them,” she said.

Shama Obaed noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not operate in isolation when handling matters related to overseas Bangladeshis, explaining that the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment alongside the Ministry of Home Affairs also participate in managing legal issues.

“When we learn that any Bangladeshi has been sentenced in Saudi Arabia, we communicate with the Saudi authorities through diplomatic channels to seek a reduction in the sentence or explore whether there is any process for a pardon,” she said.

The state minister emphasized that the administration makes every effort to safeguard Bangladeshi citizens while honoring the legal frameworks of foreign nations.

“We will definitely not interfere in the judicial system of another country, but the government does its best to save its nationals whenever it learns of such cases,” she said.

“The problem is that we were not informed of the sentences imposed on the two Bangladeshis who were executed,” Shama Obaed added.

Two citizens of Bangladesh—Nazrul Islam Abdul Bashir and Sweety Akter—were recently put to death in Saudi Arabia.

Both individuals had been in custody in the kingdom since August 2023 on distinct charges, as indicated by a classified document dispatched from the Labour Welfare Wing of the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment on October 18.

Based on the document, Saudi officials neither alerted the Bangladesh Embassy or consulate prior to the executions nor provided formal notification following the capital punishments.

Knowledge of the executions surfaced through Saudi news outlets referencing an official statement released by the Saudi Ministry of Interior on October 14.

According to the Saudi ministry’s statement as covered by local press, the capital sentences were carried out in the Makkah province.

The individuals were charged with carrying out “indecent acts” inside a mosque located in the holy city of Makkah.