Dhaka's move for clemency for 8 on death row in Saudi Arabia

Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain yesterday instructed Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh to approach the Saudi government seeking clemency for eight Bangladeshi workers sentenced to death in a killing case.
Meanwhile, relatives of the eight expatriate Bangladeshis at a press conference in the capital on Thursday urged the caretaker government to take necessary steps so the Saudi government grants amnesty for the convicts.
A total of 14 Bangladeshis were accused of killing an Egyptian national in Riyadh. Eight of them were sentenced to death while three others to 12 years' rigorous imprisonment by a Saudi court. However, two of the accused fled to Bangladesh and the rest remains absconding.
After conviction, the eight appealed to the higher court in Saudi Arabia.
Seven of the expatriates who have been awarded death sentence are Mamun, 25, son of Mannan Sarker, Shafiqul, 23, son of Khowazuddin, and Masud, 25, son of Shamsul Haque of Tangail; Faruk, 38, son of Jamal Uddin of Comilla; Suman, 25, son of Abdul Hye of Kishoreganj; Masud Rana, 25, of Brammanbaria; and Motiar Rahman, 28, son of Shahid Khan of Faridpur. The identity of another convict could not be known.
The relatives of the convicts said the Bangladesh workers intercepted an Egyptian on April 28 last year while he was stealing electric wires from Al Tuek Company in Riyadh where the Bangladeshis used to work.
Later, they said, the Egyptian along with his associates swooped on the Bangladeshi workers, prompting them to retaliate. The Egyptian was killed in the clash.
Saudi police filed a case, accusing 14 Bangladeshis of the killing.