Bangladesh, Oct. 19 -- The execution of two Bangladeshi nationals in Saudi Arabia has raised troubling questions about the treatment of migrant workers, the transparency of the kingdom's judicial process and, above all, the ability of Bangladesh's diplomatic machinery to protect its citizens abroad.

Saudi authorities executed Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar in the Mecca region on 14 October after convicting them of what the kingdom's interior ministry described as an "immoral act" inside a mosque. The sentences were imposed under ta'zir, a category of discretionary punishment under Islamic law. The Saudi authorities said the verdicts had been upheld and a royal order issued before the executions were carried out.

Yet the detai...