The family of one of the two Bangladeshi citizens told BBC Bangla that the man had spoken to them from prison just one week before his execution. During that conversation, he gave no indication that he could face the death penalty.
Saudi Arabian media reported last Wednesday that a Bangladeshi woman and a man had been executed. Neither the Saudi Arabian government nor the Bangladeshi government has officially disclosed their identities. The man was reportedly from Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila in Bangladesh.
His mother, Rahima Begum, told BBC Bangla that her son had spoken to the family from a Saudi Arabian prison the previous Sunday.
Speaking through tears, she said, "We knew that he was in prison. But my son had not told us that this would happen. We learned about it from people shortly after the news came out on Wednesday evening. As soon as we heard the news, my son's paternal aunt suffered a stroke and died."
She has demanded that her son's body be brought back to Bangladesh as soon as possible and called for justice in the case.
Mohammad Abusaeed, a district administrative official in Brahmanbaria, told BBC Bangla that the government had not yet received any official information confirming whether the man was among the two people executed in Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday, Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah bin Jafar H. Bin Abiyah for a meeting in Dhaka to obtain detailed information about the recent executions of the two Bangladeshi citizens in Mecca.
According to reports, a Saudi Arabian court convicted the two of engaging in what it described as "immoral" activities inside a mosque in Mecca.
However, neither Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka nor the Bangladeshi Embassy in Saudi Arabia has publicly disclosed the identities of the two citizens.
BBC Bangla contacted the family after receiving information from a source close to the family of the executed man. His mother subsequently confirmed that the man who had been executed was her son.
Appealing for arrangements to bring his body back to Bangladesh, she told BBC Bangla, "I have not seen my son's face for three years and three months. I want to be able to see his face at least one last time."
According to his mother, her son had completed his Dakhil studies at a madrasa before travelling to Saudi Arabia through an agent on November 10, 2022.
The young man, the eldest of two brothers and two sisters, worked as a cleaner in Riyadh. He was reportedly employed as a cleaner at the same mosque where he was accused of engaging in "immoral" activities.
His mother told BBC Bangla that he was imprisoned just six months after arriving in Saudi Arabia. A month after his imprisonment, he contacted the family.
"At that time, he told me, 'Mother, they seem to think they will keep me in prison and then release me.' We also spoke last Sunday. And on Wednesday, we heard about this incident," she said.
Asked whether her son had told the family the charges on which he had been detained, she replied, "No, he did not tell us anything specific."
However, another family member said the man had told relatives in his final days that he had been in a romantic relationship with the woman who was also executed.
His mother said her son had told her that one day, after he arrived for duty, a police vehicle came and took him away.
According to the family, he spoke to them briefly over the phone almost every week after being imprisoned. During these conversations, he had mentioned his romantic relationship with the woman.
His final conversation with the family took place on Sunday, three days before the execution.
His mother told BBC Bangla, "Initially, because of the language barrier, my son could not explain anything to anyone. We went to the agent. The agent said that once he had arrived in Saudi Arabia, the agent was no longer responsible for any matter related to him."
She also said the family had not contacted any local administrative official after her son was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.
Local residents told the BBC that the executed man was approximately 22 years old. His father had previously earned a living as a daily-wage labourer on other people's land but was no longer able to work because of his advancing age.
The family's financial difficulties had prompted them to send the young man abroad through an agent. However, he was detained in 2023, just six months after arriving in Saudi Arabia.
Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shama Obaid, also said in Dhaka today that the government had received information indicating that the executed woman and man had been detained in 2023.
"We have written a letter to obtain the remaining information. Once we receive a copy of the verdict, we will provide details. We must remember that Saudi Arabia is the largest source of remittances for our migrant workers and a major destination for them. Despite adverse circumstances, more than four lakh Bangladeshi brothers have gone there. Ensuring the safety of those who go there is also our responsibility," she said.
The state minister said many Bangladeshi citizens were serving prison sentences in various locations across Saudi Arabia. According to her, Saudi Arabia periodically sends lists containing identifying details, enabling Bangladesh to officially determine who has been arrested, when the arrest took place and under what circumstances, as well as whether the person remains in prison.
"We are checking those lists to determine whether these two names are included. We had not received this information from the families either. We only learned that the incident took place in 2023 and that they were detained in the same year," she said.
However, Dr Rehan Rashid, an international law expert based in the United Kingdom, argued that the state minister's statement itself indicated that Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had known about the arrests of the two citizens for the past three years.
Speaking to BBC Bangla, he said it was the embassy's responsibility to gather information and take the necessary steps immediately after their arrest.
"For three years, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment did not contact their families. Despite receiving the lists, the embassy took no action. The consular rights of a foreign national begin as soon as that person is arrested. They had the right to receive consular assistance. This incident shows how Bangladeshi citizens are treated there. These were poor people. They needed legal assistance," he said.
Dr Rashid said Article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations gives foreign nationals the right to receive assistance from their country's embassy when they are arrested or face legal proceedings.
"A worker may not know about these rights. It was Saudi Arabia's responsibility. At the same time, the Bangladeshi Embassy should also have obtained information about the case and taken the necessary steps," he said.
The case has left the executed man's family seeking the return of his body and answers about the legal proceedings, while Bangladesh awaits the official court verdict and examines whether the two citizens were identified in the prison records shared by Saudi Arabia. Questions raised by the family and the international law expert have also placed the spotlight on the consular assistance available to Bangladeshi workers detained overseas
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