Bangladesh says Saudi Arabia did not tell it before executing two Bangladeshi citizens in Mecca

The two Bangladeshis, a man and a woman, were executed last Wednesday for what Saudi authorities described as indecent acts committed inside a mosque, according to reports citing the Saudi Interior Ministry.

The ministry said the executions were carried out because of "the gravity and seriousness of their actions in violating the sanctity of both time and place," without saying what the alleged acts were.

The Saudi Interior Ministry said the highest court upheld the sentences and a royal decree authorised them, while the BBC reported the pair were convicted under tazir, which leaves punishment to a judge's discretion.

Dhaka seeks answers

Dhaka says neither the Foreign Ministry nor its mission in Saudi Arabia was notified beforehand, and a senior ministry official told the Dhaka-based news agency UNB that a diplomatic note was handed to the Saudi ambassador on Sunday seeking details and an explanation.

"Bangladesh is waiting for an official response from Saudi Arabia before deciding its next move," State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said.

Bangladesh will decide further steps, including bringing the bodies home, once Saudi authorities provide the full verdict and the circumstances that led to the executions, officials said.

Why it matters

More than three million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia, many of them in low-wage jobs, and the executions have caused concern among the public in Bangladesh, according to reports.

Amnesty International says Saudi Arabia has executed foreign nationals this year, several in drug-related cases, and in 2011 eight Bangladeshi men were publicly executed in Riyadh for murdering an Egyptian national.