Around 7,500 Bangladeshis in Saudi prisons, says State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid

Around seven and a half thousand Bangladeshis are in prisons across different regions of Saudi Arabia, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid has said. The figure is sent to Bangladesh by the Saudi authorities themselves; the prisoners are serving sentences of various terms, she said.

The state minister spoke to journalists on Friday (October 23) after handing over the body of Bangladeshi worker Md Shahed Ahmed, who was killed in a missile attack at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to his family.

She said it is being checked whether the names of two death-row convicts are on that list. 'We have not yet received the details. We have asked the Saudi government for copies of the verdicts. Once we get those, the details will be known,' Shama Obaid said.

She said the same about the Bangladeshis who were beheaded — details can only be given once Saudi Arabia provides copies of the verdicts.

The state minister said every country has its own legal framework and sentences are handed down accordingly. But when people are punished in this way, Bangladesh needs to know about it.

She said the government is trying, through legal processes, to secure remission of sentences for those convicted in Saudi Arabia and other countries. In other words, diplomatic and legal efforts to reduce or waive the punishments are ongoing.

The state minister also said, 'In the last six months, the bodies of 11 Bangladeshis killed in the Middle East war have been brought back to the country. Work is under way to repatriate the rest.'

Addressing the family of the deceased Bangladeshi worker Md Shahed Ahmed, she said, 'Government assistance will be delivered quickly to the family of the late Shahed Ahmed.'

The government is also working on visa renewal and employment for expatriates in Saudi Arabia, the state minister said. These two issues have long been areas of concern for Bangladeshi expatriates.

The figure of around 7,500 Bangladeshis in prison also highlights the huge presence of Bangladeshi manpower in Saudi Arabia. With such a large number of workers there, the number of people falling into legal complications has also become significant.

All eyes are now on the verdict copies to be sent by the Saudi government. Once those are in hand, there will be a clear idea about the identities of the death-row convicts and the details of their cases, and the path of the government's next legal steps will also be determined.