The Pulse | Diplomacy | South Asia

Saudi Arabia Executes Two Bangladeshi Nationals

Dhaka says it learned of their execution only after it happened. Its diplomacy is under scrutiny

On October 13, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court set aside the death sentence of Sri Lankan migrant worker Anojan Sivarasa. Sivarasa had been sentenced to death over a Facebook post deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad and blasphemous against Islam.

The following day, Saudi authorities executed two Bangladeshis, Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Suety Akhter (Sweety Akhtar, according to family), in the holy city of Makkah. According to their families, both had moved to Saudi Arabia for work nearly four years earlier. They had been convicted of what Saudi authorities described as an “immoral act” inside a mosque.

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On October 13, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court set aside the death sentence of Sri Lankan migrant worker Anojan Sivarasa. Sivarasa had been sentenced to death over a Facebook post deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad and blasphemous against Islam.

The following day, Saudi authorities executed two Bangladeshis, Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Suety Akhter (Sweety Akhtar, according to family), in the holy city of Makkah. According to their families, both had moved to Saudi Arabia for work nearly four years earlier. They had been convicted of what Saudi authorities described as an “immoral........

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