Bangladesh diplomat secures exemption after confessing to underpaying house help

A New York court has exempted Bangladesh diplomat Md Shahedul Islam of the charges of forcing his domestic aide to work for his family without pay.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron granted him a conditional discharge on Tuesday, said Ikimulisa Livingston, deputy director of communications at Queens District Attorney Richard Brown's office.

Shahedul, Bangladesh's deputy consul general in New York, pleaded guilty to failure to pay minimum wage and made restitution in the sum of $10,000 before the court, he said.

Shahedul, 45, was arraigned in June last year on grand larceny, assault, labour trafficking and other charges.

His counsel Daniel Arshack said all of the felony charges were dismissed in the court.

“We were able to demonstrate to the prosecuting authorities that there was no basis for those felony charges to have ever been brought against Mr. Islam.” he told bdnews24.com in an email. 

Arshack said  Shahidul received back his passport and is free to travel.

Shahedul brought a Bangladeshi, Mohammed Amin, to New York to work as a household help for him and his family in Queens between 2012 and 2013, according to the indictment.

"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," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

Shahedul was arrested at his Queens home on Jun 12, 2017. He was released from jail a day later.

A total of 33 charges were levelled against him but the court found none of them to be true except the one accusing him of not paying due wages, Shameem Ahsan, consul general at the Consulate General of Bangladesh in New York, said citing Shahedul’s lawyer.

Shahedul has been reinstated to the Bangladesh Consulate in New York following the court order. Bangladesh government transferred him to Bangladesh's Permanent Mission to the United Nations as a counsellor after his bail last year.

Justice Barry Kron has also ordered authorities to return Shahedul his passport which he had to surrender following the lawsuit.

“I express gratitude to those who stayed by my side throughout these tough hours. They kept courage flowing in me,” Shahedul said in his immediate reaction to the court’s decision.

A Bangladeshi UN employee in the US was cleared of charges of visa fraud and underpaying a house help in December last year.

Hamidur Rashid, who heads the UNDP’s Development Strategy and Policy Analysis Unit in New York, was accused by prosecutors of committing a visa fraud by bringing in a domestic worker from Bangladesh and then failing to pay her a lawful wage.