BANGLADESH

The High Court has asked the government for information about what steps its is taking to free 500 Bangladeshis jailed in Saudi Arabia.

The bench of justices Mohammad Bazlur Rahman and M Enayetur Rahim on Monday also wanted to know why the order to bring back these undocumented Bangladeshis should not be given.

The foreign and home secretaries have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks that came upon a petition filed on Sunday by legal-rights organisation Ain o Shalish Kendra (ASK).

The court also demanded an explanation about the government indifference on the matter should be marked as against the law.

The NGO that provides legal aid filed the petition based on a news report of Oct 13 that said there are 500 Bangladeshis imprisoned in Dammam Jail in the Sheikhdom.

ASK, in its petition, urged the High Court to order the government to repatriate the Bangladeshis.

The Daily Amar Desh report said Bangladeshis jailed in that prison are dying slowly from diseases. The expatriates were arrested for not having valid documents.

The Saudi government has agreed to permit their extradition if their return permit and airline tickets were provided, but their repatriation is not happening due to apathy from the Bangladesh embassy there, the report alleged.

Lawyers Saifur Rashid and Abonti Nurul argued for the petitioner while deputy attorney general Amit Talukder stood for the state.

Eight Bangladeshis were beheaded in public in Riyadh on Oct 7 following their confession on robbing a warehouse and killing the Egyptian security guard, Hussein Saeed Mohammed Abdulkhaleq, in April 2007.

Both the Saudi government and the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia said they could not secure clemency for the convicts, as the law states that only the victim's family can pardon such crime, and the family declined to oblige.

But rights bodies across the world have severely criticised the incident, with Amnesty International pointing out that the confessions might have been made under duress.