Diplomat charged with abuse

A HIGH-RANKING Bangladeshi diplomat based in New York, accused of forcing his servant to work for up to 18 hours a day without pay, was charged with labour trafficking and assault, CNN reported.

Shahedul Islam, Bangladesh’s deputy consul-general in New York, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. His bail was set at $50 000 (R640 000) bond or $25 000 cash.

Bangladesh’s consul-general in New York, Shameem Ahsan, and other colleagues and relatives arranged the bond.

Shahedul, 45, brought another Bangladeshi, Mohammed Amin, to the US between 2012 and 2013 to work for his family in Queens as a household helper. This arrangement is common among South Asian diplomats.

“Soon after Mr Amin’s arrival, the defendant allegedly took his passport and required the man to work 18 hours a day,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. “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.”

Shahedul has limited diplomatic immunity and was ordered to surrender his passport when he appeared before Queens Supreme Court Justice Daniel Lewis, Brown said.

The Queens grand jury hit Shahedul with a 33-count indictment on Monday that includes labour trafficking, assault and other charges.

He was arraigned later Monday. His next court date is June 28.

A spokesman for the Bangladesh embassy in Washington said it believed Amin had filed the case in bad faith and the allegations were “fabricated” and “baseless”.

Shahedul had reportedly decided to cancel Amin’s contract and was preparing to send him back to Bangladesh.