Bangladesh diplomat in New York indicted for labor trafficking and assault

Bangladesh's deputy consul general in New York, Mohammed Shaheldul Islam, was incriminated on Monday on charges of labour trafficking and an additional charge of assault  imposing work on his servant through threats and intimidation, a New York City prosecutor said.

Mohammed has limited diplomatic immunity and was ordered to surrender his passport when he appeared before Queens Supreme Court Justice Daniel Lewis, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown in a statement.

According to Brown,"The allegations in this case are very disturbing. A diplomat is accused of using both physical force and vile threats to control a person in his employment and whom he refused to pay. If the allegations are proven to be true, the defendant must be held accountable for these alleged actions."

Bail was set at $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Islam's next court hearing is dated June 28. 

Islam was charged with a 33- count indictment with second- and fourth- degree larceny, second- and third- degree assault, labor trafficking, second- degree unlawful imprisonment, failure to pay the minimum wage and second- degree harassment.

According to the indictment, Islam brought another Bangladeshi, Mohammed Amin, to New York between 2012 and 2013 to work as a household help for Islam and his family.

"Soon after Mr. Amin's arrival, the defendant allegedly took his passport and required the man to work 18 hours a day ... Even though Mr. Amin had a contract which outlines his compensation, it is alleged he was never paid for his work," the statement said.

"If the victim disobeyed the defendant's orders, Mr. Amin was allegedly physically assaulted by the defendant, who either struck him with his hand or sometimes with a wooden shoe," it said.

A spokesman for the Bangladesh embassy in Washington said it believed that the servant, Amin, had filed the case in bad faith and the allegations were "fabricated" and "baseless".

"It may be noted that Mr. Islam decided to cancel Mr. Amin's contract and was preparing to send him back to Bangladesh due to his irresponsible acts," Shamim Ahmad, the spokesman, said.

"We hope the court will give its verdict in the matter judiciously," he said.

According to the charges, Amin's only form of income came from tips from guests at parties and a "miniscule" amount of money Islam sent to Amin's family in Bangladesh.

On several occasions when Amin sought to leave, Islam beat him and threatened to harm his mother and young son in Bangladesh, the statement said.

On occasion, Islam also made salacious remarks stating that he would have Amin's college-age daughter "shamed" if he did not continue to work as his servant, the statement said. The statement did not make clear what Islam meant by shaming.

The statement also said that in 2014, shortly after an Indian diplomat in New York was charged with labour trafficking, Islam wrote a check for Amin's cash-tip earnings that the latter then had to deposit in a bank account to create the appearance of a paycheck.

Such incidents are not unheard of, as a similar incident occurred in late 2013. Devyani Khobragade, who was India's deputy consul general in New York, was arrested and subsequently accused of visa fraud and forcing her housekeeper and nanny to work 100-hour weeks for just over $1 an hour.

Khobragade's arrest and strip search provoked outrage in India and caused a major diplomatic rift between the United States and India. The charges against her were dismissed because she had diplomatic immunity. After she left the United States, a New York grand jury later issued a new indictment for visa fraud.

Last year, a Manhattan federal judge declared the former Bangladeshi consul general in New York and his wife to be in default for ignoring a lawsuit by a former domestic worker who claimed they forced him to work without pay in slavery-like conditions.