On 28 March, Saudi authorities carried out the death sentences of Nazrul Islam Abdul Bashir and Sweety Akter in the Mecca region, allegedly for kissing inside a mosque.
The executions came without any notice to the Bangladeshi government, a breach of the customary practice of informing home nations about capital‑penalty cases.
Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Humaiun Kobir, demanded an explanation and warned that the killings could force Dhaka to revisit its plans to join the Mecca Pact, a security umbrella that includes Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.
The incident has cast a shadow over the 3.5 million Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia, who send roughly ₹4,200 crore in remittances annually, and it follows a broader pattern of 306 Bangladeshis currently imprisoned in the kingdom for morality‑related offenses, 147 of whom have already received prison terms ranging from a month to 15 years.
Saudi Arabia has yet to respond to Bangladesh’s inquiries, leaving the two countries at a diplomatic impasse that could delay further cooperation and affect the flow of labor and funds.
Dhaka is preparing to engage Riyadh in a high‑level dialogue next month, hoping to secure assurances for its workers while weighing the trade‑off of deeper security alignment.