State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed has said around 7,500 Bangladeshis are imprisoned in different parts of Saudi Arabia.
She added that the government is checking whether two Bangladeshis sentenced to death are on the list.
“They send us the figures, and these people are in prison for various offences. We are checking whether the names of the two people sentenced to death are on that list. We have not received detailed information yet. We have requested copies of the verdicts from the Saudi government. We will be able to learn more once we receive them,” she said.
The state minister made the remarks on Friday after the body of Bangladeshi worker Md Shahed Ahmed, who was killed in a missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was handed over to his family.
Shama Obaed said every country has its own legal framework under which punishments are imposed. However, Bangladesh needs to be informed when its citizens are sentenced in such cases.
She said the government was pursuing legal avenues to seek clemency for Bangladeshis sentenced in Saudi Arabia and other countries.
The state minister also said the bodies of 11 Bangladeshis killed in conflicts in the Middle East over the past six months had been brought back to the country, while efforts were underway to repatriate the remaining bodies.
Addressing Shahed Ahmed’s family, she said the government would provide financial assistance to them soon.
Regarding Bangladeshis who have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia, she said further details could be provided once the Saudi government supplied copies of the verdicts. She reiterated that the government was pursuing legal avenues to seek clemency for Bangladeshis sentenced in Saudi Arabia and other countries.
She added that the government was also working on issues concerning visa renewals and employment for expatriate Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia.
