8 Bangladeshis beheaded in Saudi Arabia

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Sunday, 09 October 2011

Author / Source : HUMAYUN KABIR BHUIYAN

DHAKA, OCT 8: Eight Bangladeshi workers were executed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabian capital, on Friday for murdering an Egyptian national in 2007. The men were convicted of robbing a warehouse and killing the Egyptian security guard, Hussein Saeed Mohammed Abdulkhaleq. “Yes, eight Bangladesh nationals were executed on Friday. They have been beheaded in public,” Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, second secretary (labour) of the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh, told The Independent over telephone on Saturday. “The Saudi authorities buried them after the Asr prayer on Friday. This is the largest figure to be executed at one go in Saudi Arabia. The earlier largest number was three,” said the official.
Those executed are Sumon Mia, S/o Milon Mia, Village-Kamarpur, Upazila-Pakundia, District-Kishoreganj, Sumon, S/o Abdul Hye, Village-Purboshuva, Upazila-Kalihati, District-Tangail, Mamun, S/o  Abdul Mannan Sarker, Village-Abdullah Para, Post-Choibari, Upazila and District- Tangail, Shafiqul Islam, S/o Khoajuddin, Village-Bhatkurar Chala, Post-Hoteya  Rajbari, Upazila-Sakhipur, District-Tangail, Faruque, S/o Jamal Uddin, Village and  Post-Poiyakandhi, Upazila-Daudkandi, District-Comoilla, Abu Hussain, S/o Ahmed Biswas, District-Faridpur, Motiar Rahman, S/o Shahid Khan, Village-Krishnonagor, PS-Kotoali, District-Faridpur and Masud, S/o Mr. Shamsul Hoque, Village-Purboshubha, Post-Kosturi Para, Upazilla-Kalihati, District-Tangail.
Three other Bangladeshis were sentenced for different prison terms ranging from eight to 12 years and flogging in connection with the case.
The Saudi authorities, as per the usual practice, had not informed the Embassy in advance, and in such cases bodies are not handed over to relatives. The embassy came to know of it after contacting the jail authorities, he said.
“The eight were told in the morning to get ready and they were executed after the Asr prayer. No permission is needed to bury the executed,” he added.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh was preparing formal letters to be sent to the foreign ministry and the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry, who in turn would inform the relatives of the executed men.
Replying to a question, Mizanur said that after being convicted by the lower court, the accused, with the support of the embassy, had appealed before the higher court, but their appeal was dismissed. Even an appeal was lodged on behalf of the Bangladesh President seeking clemency, but that appeal was not taken into cognisance.
“The last hope was to earn the forgiveness of the murdered man's relatives in exchange for blood money. But they said they will not forgive the accused,” he added.
To another question, Mizanur said: “The families of the convicted are aware of the executions.”

When contacted, foreign ministry spokesperson Shameem Ahsan told The Independent: “We have been informed of the incident by the Bangladesh Ambassador in Riyadh. The Ambassador has said that those executed have been buried. After receiving details from the Embassy in Riyadh, we will inform the relatives of the eight. We are in constant touch with our embassy.” Reporting the incident on its website, the Amnesty International (AI) said the migrant workers who were beheaded in public, were sentenced to death for the alleged murder of an Egyptian man in April 2007. Since the end of the holy month of Ramzan, executions have resumed in Saudi Arabia at an alarming rate, the report said.
“Court proceedings in Saudi Arabia fall far short of international standards for fair trial and news of these recent multiple executions is deeply disturbing,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty Internatio-nal’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“The Saudi authorities appear to have increased the number of executions in recent months, a move that puts the country at odds with the worldwide trend against the death penalty,” she said. “The government must establish an immediate moratorium on executions in the Kingdom and commute all death sentences, with a view to abolishing the death penalty completely,” she added.
The beheadings bring the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year to at least 58, more than double than the 2010 figures, the report said, adding that 20 of those executed in 2011 were foreign nationals. It also said that two other Saudi nationals had been executed in the northern city of Tabuk, bringing the total number of executions on Friday to 10.
Many of those executed in Saudi Arabia in recent years have been foreign nationals, mostly migrant workers from poor and developing countries, said the report.
“Defendants often have no defence lawyer and are unable to follow court proceedings in Arabic. They are also rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them,” it said.
“They, and many of the Saudi Arabians who are executed, also have no access to influential figures such as government authorities or heads of tribes, nor to money, both crucial factors in paying blood money or securing a pardon in murder cases,” it added.
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences, stated the report. “They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress or deception,” it said.
At least 158 people, including 76 foreign nationals, were executed by the Saudi Arabian authorities in 2007. In 2008 some 102 people, including almost 40 foreign nationals, were executed, according to the report.
In 2009, at least 69 people are known to have been executed, including 19 foreign nationals, and in 2010, at least 27 people were executed, including six foreign nationals, it added.