On October 14, 2026, a 22-year-old man and his fiancée were beheaded after they were found kissing near a mosque in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
This devastating incident has sent shockwaves through the international community and triggered a major diplomatic standoff between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.
The two individuals, identified as Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar, were both Bangladeshi nationals working in the holy city.
According to reports, Saudi authorities carried out the executions under ta’zir, a form of discretionary judicial punishment, ruling that their actions severely violated the sanctity of the holy site.
The tragedy has left their families devastated and looking for answers.
Due to severe gaps in communication and language barriers, the families were under the impression that the pair were serving a standard prison sentence and had no idea the death penalty was even on the table.
Because the standard diplomatic channels were bypassed, the Bangladesh Embassy was also left completely in the dark until after the executions had already taken place.
