Murshidabad's Sahabuddin in a Saudi jail since 2023 over spreading the Makkah video, family appeals for his return

Saudi Arabia's interior ministry recently executed two Bangladeshi nationals accused of an immoral act in a mosque in Makkah. Amid worldwide discussion of that incident, news has now emerged of a young man from India's West Bengal being held in a Saudi prison. He is accused of being behind the spreading on social media of the video that caused the uproar.

The imprisoned young man is Sahabuddin Sheikh, 32, from Balrampur village in the Raninagar area of Murshidabad district in West Bengal. A migrant worker by profession, Sahabuddin has been in a Saudi prison since 2023, according to his family and local sources.

According to his family and local media reports, Sahabuddin had worked as a cleaner in Saudi Arabia for the past eight years. While he was on duty at a courtyard in Makkah, an objectionable act by a Bangladeshi couple was filmed.

Relatives claim that on the day of the incident a Pakistani colleague present there borrowed Sahabuddin's mobile phone and recorded the video. It was later shared on social media merely for 'fun'.

When the video, filmed in a sensitive place such as the holy city of Makkah, quickly went viral, Saudi security agencies moved into action. Riyadh police arrested Sahabuddin on charges of spreading the video under the digital crime control law and for social defamation.

Sahabuddin's mother Kohinur Bibi, speaking by phone from Balrampur village in tears, said her son did not understand how grave the consequence of a small video could be, that he was not directly involved in any wrongdoing and that it was simply a foolish act.

In an official statement, Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said the sentences of the two Bangladeshi nationals accused of violating the sanctity and decency of a holy place were carried out in the Makkah region. As the sentences were carried out under strict confidentiality under Saudi law, detailed information about the incident was not disclosed.

As news of the execution of the two Bangladeshis reached Murshidabad, Sahabuddin's family has been living in fear. Because of the conservative laws and strict justice system of the Middle East, relatives are anxious about Sahabuddin's fate.

Kohinur Bibi said Sahabuddin was the family's only earning member and the whole household ran on the money he sent. With her son in prison, the family faces financial hardship and has also lost the means to fight a legal battle.

The family has submitted a written application to India's foreign ministry and the local administration to bring Sahabuddin back home and to give him legal assistance. However, neither the Indian embassy in Riyadh nor the Saudi authorities have yet officially provided information about the current status of the case or the punishment under the specific charges.

According to human rights workers active in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has a strict cybercrime law under which publishing or spreading sensitive information or video on social media is treated as a threat to state security. Until the specific documents of Sahabuddin's case are available, it is difficult to say anything about his future.

In Balrampur village in Murshidabad, the family now waits for news of an official assurance and for their son to return home.