Bangladesh’s deputy consul general in New York was released from jail on Tuesday, a day after a U.S. court indicted him on charges of labour trafficking and assaulting a domestic servant to work without pay through threats and intimidation.
Confirming the release on bail, consul general of Bangladesh in New York Shameem Ahsan said the domestic aide, Ruhul Amin, went missing on May 17 last year and the Consulate General formally reported the matter to the U.S. authorities the very next day.
“It’s quite surprising that he has come up with so many allegations against his employer after about 13 months, which suggests that he might have other motives in mind,” Mr. Shameem said.
The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry also said the domestic aide going missing was earlier reported to the U.S. authorities.
Shahedul 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.
Protest
Dhaka has expressed serious dissatisfaction over the arrest of diplomat and lodged a protest over the incident . The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday 'summoned' acting US Ambassador in Dhaka Joel Reifman and 'strongly protested' the detention of its diplomat following the allegation raised by his 'absconding' domestic help.
“We have reasons to believe that the arrest is a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963,” the foreign ministry said in a statement .
According to the indictment, Shahedul brought a Bangladeshi, Mohammed Amin, to New York between 2012 and 2013 to work as a household help . “Soon after Amin's arrival, the defendant allegedly took his passport and required the man to work 18 hours a day ... Even though Amin had a contract which outlines his compensation, it is alleged he was never paid for his work,” the statement said. The absconding domestic help also alleged physical assaults by his employer.
New York police arrested Shahidul following the allegations . His colleagues in the Consul General office and relatives arranged a $50,000 bond to secure his bail.
Earlier another Bangladesh diplomat, former consul general of in New York and his wife, had faced the similar ordeals. A Manhattan federal judge charged the diplomat and his wife for ignoring a lawsuit by their former domestic help who claimed they forced him to work without pay in slavery-like conditions.
In 2013 Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was also arrested and accused of visa fraud and forcing her housekeeper to work defying laws. The charges against her were later dismissed , although a New York court issued a new indictment for visa fraud after she left the US .
