Who was Sweety Akhtar, mother of 9-year-old executed by Saudi Arabia over adultery?

Married twice and abandoned by her second husband, Bangladeshi national Sweety Akhtar left her country to secure her daughter's future. But, she ended up in a Saudi Arabian prison and was executed over alleged adultery, leaving her family unaware of her death sentence until they learnt about it on Facebook.

In Short

• Sweety Akhtar married in Class 8, remarried, and was later abandoned
• Father borrowed Tk 1.5 lakh to send Sweety to Saudi Arabia for work
• Sweety called home a day before execution, didn't reveal death sentence

Sweety Akhtar's last phone conversation with her father gave no hint that it would be their final one. Married while she was in Class 8, divorced, remarried and later abandoned by her second husband, Sweety Akhtar had left Bangladesh for Saudi Arabia to build a better future for her daughter. The youngest of five sisters, Sweety Akhtar came from a poor family in Tangail, where her father worked as a daily wage labourer. She left her daughter, now nine according to a relative, in her elder sister's care and moved to Saudi Arabia in March 2023 to work as a cleaner.

But within six months, she was in prison, and three years after her arrival in the Kingdom, she was executed for what Saudi authorities described as "immoral acts" inside a mosque in Mecca. She was executed alongside another Bangladeshi national, Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir, who worked for the same company. According to a Bangladeshi consular memorandum, Sweety had been detained on allegations of adultery, while Nazrul was arrested under Saudi Arabia's cybercrime law.

On October 14, Saudi Arabia announced the execution of two Bangladeshi nationals, Sweety Akhtar and Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir, following their conviction for acts described as immoral. The executions have sparked outrage in Bangladesh after its diplomatic mission said it had not been informed beforehand.

Sweety's family, meanwhile, learnt of her reported execution through others and Facebook, despite remaining in contact with her during her imprisonment. Her father said he last spoke to her on October 13, a day before the execution, but she never mentioned a death sentence. So, who was Sweety Akhtar?

MARRIED IN CLASS 8, ABANDONED BY SECOND HUSBAND

Sweety was born in Nagar Chhawali village in Mahera union of Mirzapur upazila, Tangail in central Bangladesh. Her parents, Md Fazal Mia and Johura Begum, had five daughters, of whom Sweety was the youngest.

According to Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo, Sweety was married while studying in Class 8. The marriage broke down, and she returned to her parents' home with her daughter.

Under family pressure, she married again. Her father, who earned a daily wage, borrowed money to send Sweety's second husband to Saudi Arabia, but he stopped communicating with her after reaching the country.

Sweety's cousin Salma Akhtar told Prothom Alo that the repeated setbacks in her married life and the family's poverty prompted her to seek employment abroad.

Salma said Sweety's daughter, now nine years old, studies in Class 3 at a local primary school. Dhaka-based newspaper, The Daily Star, quoted Sweety's mother as saying the child was four years old.

FATHER BORROWED TAKA 1.5 LAKH TO SEND HER ABROAD

According to The Daily Star, Sweety's father, Fazal Mia, borrowed Taka 1.5 lakh to send her to Saudi Arabia. She travelled in March 2023 through a registered recruitment agency.

BBC Bangla reported that her passport had been issued in May 2022 and that Bangladesh's Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training cleared her for overseas employment in February 2023.

Sweety worked as a cleaner, reportedly inside Mecca's holy mosque complex. For the first five to six months, she sent money home.

Then the transactions stopped.

Her father told The Daily Star, "She sent money home for the first five months. One day, she called and told us she had been sent to jail."

ARRESTED IN AUGUST 2023, FAMILY TOLD A DIFFERENT STORY

A confidential October 18 consular memorandum obtained by The Daily Star showed that Sweety was detained on August 2, 2023, on allegations of adultery. Nazrul was detained a day earlier under Saudi Arabia's cybercrime law.

Both worked for Al Majal Company, according to the memorandum. Sweety was held at Jeddah Women's Prison.

But the explanation she gave her family was different. According to her father, Sweety claimed that some female colleagues had illegally purchased a car and that she had been arrested along with them, The Daily Star reported. Her relatives believe she was falsely implicated.

SWEETY AKHTAR CALLED HOME A DAY BEFORE EXECUTION

Even in prison, Sweety maintained contact with her family, sometimes calling every week and sometimes after a month.

BBC Bangla reported that her relatives knew she was imprisoned but did not know the precise charges. Sweety had discouraged further questions, promising to explain everything when she returned home.

Her father told Prothom Alo that they last spoke on October 13, after Maghrib (evening) prayers. She said nothing about her trial or sentence. The Daily Star separately quoted Fazal as saying that Sweety had suggested she might be released within two months.

Her elder sister told BBC Bangla that she discovered news of the death sentence through a Facebook video sent by a friend.

A FAMILY WAITING FOR ANSWERS

While speculations are being made over the execution of the two Bangladeshis, Dhaka is still awaiting the precise acts underlying the two convictions. The Bangladesh mission in Saudi Arabia said it received no advance notification. Dhaka has sought copies of the judgments and details of the proceedings. However, Riyadh has not responded to the queries.

Although Bangladesh's Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare disclosed the executed workers' identities on October 19, Sweety's family said it had still received no direct official confirmation. Her mother, Johura Begum, told Prothom Alo, "My daughter, you suffered so much, yet you didn't tell anyone. You didn't even tell me. Bring my daughter's body home. I want to see her."

For the family which borrowed money to send their daughter abroad, the hope of her returning with savings has now turned into a plea to bring her remains home.

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