In the days after Saudi Arabia announced the execution of two Bangladeshis, social media users in Nigeria and elsewhere began sharing different explanations for why they were killed. Some said it was for sex inside a mosque in Mecca. Others said it was for kissing, a kiss on the forehead, or for the husband kissing his pregnant wife’s belly. Many added that the two were newlyweds on honeymoon. We checked each version.
The earliest post we could trace was by an X user, @BodnaSoor, on 18 October. It said Saudi Arabia “executed a Bangladeshi couple over a kiss” but spared a Hindu man accused of insulting the Prophet. It showed about 49,200 views when we checked.
On 19 October, the account Trending Explained (@TrendingEx) went further. Its post said the “immoral act” was “apparently a kiss on the forehead,” that the pair were newlyweds on honeymoon, and that Saudi authorities refused to accept they were married. It cited unnamed reports in Bangladesh and showed about 960,800 views.
On 20 October, Indian Supreme Court lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha posted that Saudi Arabia had executed a newlywed couple and that Nazrul “Kissed his Pregnant Wife’s Belly” inside the mosque. It was shared with a photo of a couple at the Kaaba and showed about 1.8 million views at the time of this investigation.
Nigerian platforms also carried the story. Vanguard reported on 19 October, citing social media reports, that the couple were newlyweds punished over a forehead kiss. A Nairaland thread repeated the claims, with users condemning Saudi Arabia.
Here is what the evidence shows:
That two Bangladeshis were executed is verified. In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the Interior Ministry said Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar committed an “indecent act” inside a mosque in Mecca and were sentenced to death under ta’zir. The Daily Star reported that the executions took place on 14 October. Bangladesh’s consulate in Jeddah said it was not notified beforehand.
That they were executed for sex is unverified. The ministry did not specify the act, the mosque or the date of arrest. TheCable called it a “sexual act” and another outlet added “sexual intercourse” in brackets, but we could not find those words in the statement as quoted by credible reports. Prothom Alo reported that a Saudi list sent to Dhaka showed an adultery charge against the woman and a cybercrime charge against the man. That is a Bangladeshi account of a document, not a court judgment, and it does not show what happened in the mosque.
The forehead-kiss story is also unverified. We found no statement from Saudi or Bangladeshi officials supporting it, and no named report behind it. Its absence from the Saudi statement does not make it false. Bangladesh has asked for the case details and court record, and until they are released nobody outside the court can say what the two did.
The belly-kiss claim is false. The Quint traced the photo to Egyptian influencer Gehad Elbana and her husband, Ramzy Mahmoud, who shared it in December 2024 to announce her pregnancy. It has no link to the Bangladeshis.
The newlywed and honeymoon claims are not supported. Nazrul’s father told Jago News that the woman was not his son’s wife and that the family did not know her. That is a family account, not an official finding, but nothing credible has shown a marriage. Bangladeshi officials told Prothom Alo that both worked as cleaners for the same company, and that they were arrested in August 2023, which does not fit a honeymoon trip.
Conclusion
In short, the executions are confirmed. The sex, forehead-kiss and honeymoon stories remain unverified or unsupported, and the pregnant-belly story is false. The two biggest posts alone drew more than two million views, but wide sharing is not evidence.