A total of 10 Bangladeshi migrants returned home on Friday after the authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia freed 12 Bangladeshis who had been detained for organising special prayers for the victims of the student-led mass uprising that led to the ousting of Sheikh Hasina on August 5.
Officials said that a Saudia Airlines flight carried them to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport early Friday.
The migrants said at the airport that they were picked up by the Saudi police on August 8 while attending a special prayer session.
After spending eight months in prison, the 12 detainees were released, with 10 of them deported.
The remaining two are expected to return soon, said Olid Talukder, president of the Jatiya Janata Forum, one of the organisations that supported the victims in Saudi Arabia.
Wage Earners鈥� Welfare Board deputy director Md Shariful Islam said that the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia had informed them about the release of the 12 Bangladeshi migrants.
He, however, noted that the embassy did not provide specific details regarding the timing of their return.
鈥業 have heard about the return of 10 Bangladeshis from Saudi Arabia,鈥� he said.
The released Bangladeshis are Md Badol, son of Siddiqur Rahman from Jamalpur; Md Ershad, son of Israfil, and Md Shakil Hossain, son of Kabir Hossain from Tangail; Md Abul Hossain, son of Nanu Miah, Saddam Hossain, son of Abu Tayeb, and Jewel Rana, son of Firoj Miah from Brahmanbaria; Ismail Hossain, son of Ibrahim Khalil from Noakhali; Kausar Hosen Swapon, son of Abul Hosen, Habibur Rahman, son of Hafez Ali Mijhi, and Masud Gazi, son of Munaf Gazi from Chandpur; Md Jamil Hossain from Cumilla; and Mohammad Yakub, son of Md Akter from Dhaka.
The returnees alleged that the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia did not take proper measures to secure their release, which resulted in a prolonged detention period.
A senior official at the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia, however, denied the allegation, stating that nearly 100 Bangladeshis were arrested in connection with the July movement.
The Saudi authorities released the others and allowed them to continue working in the country, but the 12 migrants accused of organising the unauthorised prayer session were deported, the official added.