The families of two Bangladeshis who were killed in Saudi Arabia will get about Tk25 crore combined as compensation.
Bangladesh's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary, mediated the deal.
Sagar Patwary's family, who died in Dammam in 2006, will receive 51 lakh Saudi Riyals (Tk14.92 crore) while Abiran Begum's family, who died in Riyadh in 2019, will get 48.8 lakh Saudi Riyals (Tk10.81 crore).
The embassy stated that Sagar Patwary from Comilla, Bangladesh, was killed by an unknown shooter in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on June 27, 2006. The investigation stalled because the killer was not identified. On August 12, 2018, a Labor Welfare Wing official found out during a visit to the Dammam South police station that Umar Al Shammary, a Saudi citizen arrested for theft, was suspected of killing Sagar Patwary. The police said they would reopen the case if a case filed against Umar. After this, the embassy reached out to Sagar's family.
Using social media and help from strangers, the embassy got the family's phone number and filed a court case seeking the death penalty for the accused, following the ambassador's instructions and with legal authority given to the embassy.
After proving Umar Al Shammary's guilt, the court sentenced him to death on March 24, 2021. Umar's father proposed a settlement to withdraw the death penalty claim in exchange for compensation. Sagar Patwary's family agreed to a 51 lakh Riyals settlement, arranged by the ambassador. The case was closed when the payment was received, and the money was deposited in the embassy's bank on December 6.
Abiran Begum, a domestic worker from Khulna, was killed by her employer's wife, Ayesha Ahmad Sagir Al Jizani, in Riyadh on March 24, 2019. The police arrested Ayesha, her husband Basem Salem Sagir, and their son Walid. After the trial, on February 14, 2021, the court sentenced Ayesha to Qisas (death) and gave various prison terms and a 50,000 Riyals fine to her husband and son. The appellate court later upheld Ayesha's death sentence. When the verdict was appealed, court upheld the death sentence.
The convict's family and the Saudi government asked the victim's family to forgive the convict in exchange for blood money. The victim's family, with the ambassador's help, asked for the highest compensation. They agreed to pardon in exchange for 48.8 lakh Riyals.
When the accused's family did not pay the blood money on time, a Labor Counselor, on the ambassador's orders, asked Riyadh's Deputy Governor Nabil bin Abdullah Al-Taweel for help to get the money. On May 15, the judge removed the death sentence and issued a 48.8 lakh Riyals check to Abiran Begum's family as compensation.
This money was deposited in the embassy's account after the Saudi Central Bank approved it.
This event is the largest blood money compensation ever for Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia for Sagar Patwary and Abiran Begum. The families of the deceased thanked the ambassador and embassy staff. The Saudi government and the families of the two Saudis were also pleased, as the mediation saved their lives.