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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Maroosha Muzaffar

The whirlwind ‘affair’ with a Saudi ambassador that upended a Bangladeshi beauty queen’s life

Bangladesh Facebook Saudi Arabia

Activist and former beauty queen Meghna Alam recalls that she first met Essa Yousef Al Duhailan, then Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Bangladesh, at an event in Dhaka last September.

Al Duhailan, she claims, pursued her with charm. First he gave her a copy of the Quran, a prayer mat and a prayer dress as gifts. Then he sent flowers, jewellery, and even 200kg of dates labelled a “Gift from the King of Saudi Arabia”.

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