The True Story Behind the Execution of Two Bangladeshi Nationals in Saudi Arabia Why were two Bangladeshi nationals, a man and a woman, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia? Two Bangladeshi nationals, Nazrul Islam and Sithi Akter, were employed by the Bin Laden Group as cleaning staff at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The woman lived in the Batha Quraish area, while the man resided in the Al-Iskan neighbourhood. In May 2023, during their employment, the two developed a romantic relationship and engaged in consensual sexual activity inside an isolated room located above the stairway between Gates 85 and 87 of the Grand Mosque. Nazrul Islam asked an Indian colleague to stand guard downstairs. However, the colleague recorded this without their consent. The Indian colleague later demanded sexual access to the woman. When his demand was not fulfilled, he circulated the recorded video, bringing the incident to the attention of Saudi authorities. Following the video’s circulation, Saudi authorities l arrested all three individuals. The Indian national was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the two Bangladeshi nationals remained in custody from May 2023 until October 2026, for approximately three and a half years. The court finally imposed the death penalty as a discretionary punishment and both two Bangladeshi nationals, Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar, were executed on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.