The word 'convicted' is written next to the names of 22 Bangladeshi citizens currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. However, the official list provided by the Saudi government does not specify their punishments, leaving it unclear whether they have been sentenced to prison terms or handed the death penalty. The Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah remains unaware of their specific legal status.
Among these 22 individuals were Nazrul Islam and Sweety Akhtar, whose recent execution news sparked widespread outrage across Bangladesh. The fate of the remaining 20 individuals is now shrouded in uncertainty.
In response to this information gap, the Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah has dispatched an official letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia to determine the exact nature of the sentences handed down to them. The correspondence was formally sent to the Jeddah branch of the Saudi Foreign Ministry on October 19.
Speaking to Chitra Post on Thursday, Mohammad Shakawat Hossain, the Consul General of Bangladesh in Jeddah, stated that clear and definitive information has been officially sought from the Saudi authorities to ensure proper consular services for the convicted Bangladeshi nationals.
Questions have notably been raised over the empty punishment column in the official documents. On September 30, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs transmitted a comprehensive list comprising 2,461 Bangladeshi prisoners. While some of these detainees—falling under the jurisdiction of the Jeddah Consulate—have been formally tried and sentenced, others are still awaiting trial. Upon reviewing the document, the Consulate discovered that despite the designation 'convicted' in the status column, the corresponding verdict details were left blank.
