The execution of two Bangladeshi citizens in Saudi Arabia's Makkah province on October 14, 2026, raises a challenging question: What is the purpose of consular protection if the government is unable to determine which of its nationals are at risk of execution until it is too late?
According to Saudi officials, two individuals named Nazerul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhter have been sentenced to death after a court found them guilty of alleged immoral behavior in a mosque.
The Bangladesh consulate in Jeddah stated that it had not received advance notice of the executions. Further study revealed a disturbing feature, as Saudi officials furnished the consulate with a roster of nearly 2,500 offenders that included their names, but did not provide details of their capital sentences.
Under Article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, foreign nationals who are in detention possess the right to communicate with consular officials and have access to them.
If a detained citizen requests consular aid, the consular post must be notified without delay, and the detainee must be informed of this right.
Article 37(a) concerns the notification of the death of a foreign national, provided that the receiving authorities possess the essential information. The Convention does not obligate a state to give prior notification of every execution to be carried out. Whether it violated these provisions depends on confidential variables such as the conditions of imprisonment and whether consular notice was requested.
Bangladesh should obtain the required information rather than bring a bogus legal accusation, according to the text. A bilateral system needs to be established for the prompt notification of capital charges, death sentences, appeals, and scheduled executions.
Bangladesh's significant reliance on Saudi Arabia makes this a serious matter. According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training, 752,715 Bangladeshis sought employment in Saudi Arabia in 2025. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia remained the largest provider of remittances to Bangladesh in the 2025-26 fiscal year, with totals exceeding $5.85 billion.
The enumeration named the two executed individuals but made no mention of the imposition of death sentences. The reported offenses prevented consular officials from reliably associating the entries with the executions.
It cannot guide a task that requires immediate engagement unless it specifies the allegation, the phase of processes, the verdict, the status of appeals, and the next important date.
Other nations demonstrate the operation of various components inside such a system. The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of the Philippines creates a Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers' Affairs and a Legal Assistance Fund to reimburse qualified expenses such as foreign attorney fees and litigation costs.
Its relevance stems from the distribution of accountability and funding for legal action, rather than relying on improvised remedies. India's MADAD consular grievance portal offers a unique feature: citizens can lodge grievances and track their progress within the government's consular framework.
Although grievance monitoring alone cannot prevent an execution, a similar platform could enable Bangladesh to record detention conditions, assign tasks, verify timetables, and escalate lingering issues.
Indonesia offers a cautionary example. Siti Zainab, an Indonesian domestic servant, was executed in Saudi Arabia in 2015 despite efforts by Indonesian members of parliament to secure a pardon. The execution also followed concerns raised by Jakarta regarding the lack of prior notification given to her family and diplomatic authorities.
The example demonstrates that diplomatic entreaties alone cannot ensure security. Robust precautions must be taken before a problem reaches a critical stage.
For someone accused of a capital crime, time is more than just a bureaucratic issue. Timely consular intervention can help educate families, find a suitable local attorney, provide translation assistance, obtain judicial rulings, and track appeal deadlines.
It may also provide authorities with an opportunity to consider clemency or alternative sentencing, depending on the area's legislation. These opportunities are lost as the execution begins.
Bangladesh cannot assume that every conviction is invalid and cannot ask Saudi courts to abandon jurisdiction. However, it may be argued that consular protection is important and that families are not left to seek necessary answers following an irreversible ruling. Advising migrants to follow the laws of their host country is risky because it does not provide them with legal protection if arrested.
Bangladesh should demand the full judicial records of both events and provide families with verifiable information. There needs to be a proper internal evaluation of the measures to receive, evaluate, and implement the list of inmates.
Dhaka and Riyadh should set up a formal bilateral consular mechanism, whereby they would be required to inform on important criminal allegations, death sentences, appellate rulings, and scheduled executions in a timely manner.
In high-risk scenarios, Bangladesh should have an accurate, up-to-date list of the incarcerated citizens and identified authorities. Each record shall contain the name of the inmate, the charge, the judicial status, the sentence, the legal counsel, and the pertinent dates.
Create a dedicated fund for legal aid to support local lawyers, provide translation services, and hasten legal reviews. The number of detainees supported, the number of cases raised, and the outcomes should be regularly reported to the public, while respecting the confidentiality of personal information.
Bangladesh can learn from the Philippines’ financial framework and India’s case-monitoring system, but neither can be rolled out immediately. The Indonesian situation indicates that diplomatic protests after an execution don’t work. A strong system requires verifiable data from host countries, appropriate staffing and finance at foreign missions, and clear accountability in Dhaka.
In my 2020 Op-Ed for the Dhaka Tribune, "Is anyone listening?" I highlighted my concern for the safety of Bangladeshi citizens whose livelihoods rely on migration. That is the inquiry.
A prisoner roster is ineffective unless it motivates action, and Bangladesh must ensure that, when an individual receives a death sentence abroad, the diplomatic mission is promptly alerted to investigate, acquire legal aid and pursue all available options.
Md Fahmedul Islam Dewan is a Lecturer, Department of Law, World University of Bangladesh.
Why it matters
Establishing formal bilateral consular notification mechanisms is essential to protect millions of Bangladeshi migrant workers from undocumented capital sentences abroad.