[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 7


BANGLADESH/SAUDI ARABIA:

8 Bangladeshis on death row in KSA----Families appeal for govt action for
amnesty

The relatives of eight expatriate Bangladeshi workers sentenced to death
by a Saudi court appealed to the government yesterday for taking necessary
steps so the Saudi government grants amnesty for the convicts.

They made the request at a press conference at the Crime Reporters'
Association of Bangladesh conference room in the capital,

The eight Bangladeshi workers were awarded capital punishment while three
others were sentenced to 12 years' rigorous imprisonment for killing an
Egyptian worker in Riyadh. However, a total of 14 Bangladeshi expatriates
were accused in the case.

6 of the expatriates who have been awarded death sentence are Mamun, 25,
Shafiqul, 23, Masud, 25 of Tangail, Faruk, 28, of Comilla, Matiar, 28 of
Faridpur and Sumon of Kishoreganj. The names of the other 2 could not be
known.

They went to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) 4 to 5 years back.

The relatives of the convicts said the Bangladeshi workers challenged the
Egyptian worker on April 28 last year when he tried to escape stealing
electric wires from the hostel where they lived.

When they were quizzing the Egyptian youth, other Egyptian workers of a
factory near the hostel swooped on the Bangladeshi workers prompting them
to retaliate.

The Egyptian man was killed in the clash. Saudi police filed a case
against 14 Bangladeshis for killing him.

Of them 2 fled to Bangladesh while 1 remains on the run.

Death of the Egyptian man is totally unexpected, said Shjahan, brother of
one of the convicts, Shafiqul. He also urged Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar
Ahmed Chowdhury to take necessary steps for seeking amnesty of the eight
Bangladeshi workers from the Saudi government.

Mamun's mother Hazera Khatun, Shafiqul's father Khoazuddin, Faruk's father
Jamal Uddin, and Matiar's brother Din Islam, among others, were present.

(source: The Daily Star)