Saudi Arabia has carried out the execution of two Bangladeshi nationals following their conviction for committing indecent acts inside a mosque in the holy city of Mecca, a deeply sensitive location for Muslims worldwide.
Bangladesh has confirmed that it received no prior notification before the executions were carried out on Wednesday, and has formally requested detailed information from Saudi authorities regarding the case.
The two individuals—a man and a woman—had their death sentences upheld by the kingdom’s highest court, after which a royal decree authorized their execution, according to a statement from the Saudi Interior Ministry.
The ministry justified the executions by citing ‘the gravity and seriousness of their actions in violating the sanctity of both time and place,’ though it provided no further elaboration on the specifics of the alleged acts.
In response, Shama Obaed, a senior official at Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, stated that a letter has been dispatched to the Saudi government seeking comprehensive and transparent information about the judicial process and the execution itself.
Separately, on Saturday, Saudi authorities executed five Saudi nationals convicted on terrorism-related charges, the ministry confirmed. The men were accused of joining a foreign terrorist organization, opening fire on security personnel, possessing weapons, and financing terrorist operations within the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s most prolific practitioners of capital punishment, with Amnesty International reporting 356 executions in 2025—a figure surpassed only by China and Iran.
According to the interior ministry, over 170 people have been executed in the kingdom so far this year, underscoring the ongoing intensity of its use of the death penalty.