V 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2181 

For the relief of Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2007 

Mr. MCDERMOTT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

For the relief of Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed is an innocent 

6 Bangladeshi citizen living in exile in the United 

7 States. In 1996, a Bangladeshi court erroneously 

8 convicted Mr. Ahmed of murder and sentenced him 

9 to death in connection with a 1975 coup. Having ex10 hausted all available legal avenues, Ahmed now sits 

11 in U.S. custody awaiting his deportation and subse12 quent execution. 

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1 (2) The circumstances surrounding the trial in 

2 absentia and subsequent conviction of Mohiuddin 

3 ‘‘Din’’ Ahmed, are sufficiently suspect as to warrant 

4 the immediate intervention on the part of the United 

5 States Government to prevent his planned deporta6 tion, which as of now is imminent. 

7 (3) If the United States Congress, the United 

8 States State Department, or the United States De9 partment of Homeland Security fail to intervene on 

10 his behalf, or favorably exercise their discretion in 

11 this matter, Ahmed will face certain execution by 

12 hanging upon his arrival in Bangladesh. 

13 (4) Following its split from Pakistan in 1971, 

14 the newly sovereign nation of Bangladesh experi15 enced a period of violent civil unrest, culminating in 

16 the violent coup to overthrow the nation’s first 

17 Prime Minister, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib) on 

18 August 15, 1975. Ahmed had been commissioned as 

19 an officer in the East Pakistani military before Ban20 gladesh declared its independence, and he continued 

21 to serve during the Pakistani civil war and after 

22 independence. On the night of August 15, 1975, 

23 Ahmed was ordered to station his men at a road24 block roughly one mile from the home of then Prime 

25 Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

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1 That night, a violent coup erupted, and individuals 

2 stormed the home of the Prime Minister, killing him 

3 and the rest of his family. 

4 (5) Ahmed, like most Bangladeshis and many 

5 international observers at the time, was concerned 

6 with Mujib’s policies of political suppression and his 

7 repeated violations of the civil rights of the 

8 Bangladeshi people. However, he had no knowledge 

9 of, nor did he support, the violent coup that erupted 

10 that night. 

11 (6) Following the coup, Ahmed went on to serve 

12 as a diplomat in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere, 

13 until 1996, when Sheikh Hasina Wajed, daughter of 

14 the assassinated Prime Minister, came to power, and 

15 then broke her promise to respect the Bangladeshi 

16 constitutional amendment which provided immunity 

17 to officers involved in the 1975 coup. Rather, Sheikh 

18 Hasina Wajed orchestrated the repeal of the con19 stitutional amendment, and the arrest of the men 

20 she believed were responsible for the death of her fa21 ther. Under these orders, Ahmed, who had been liv22 ing in Los Angeles, was tried in absentia, convicted, 

23 and sentenced to death by hanging. He will not be 

24 allowed to reopen the in absentia conviction. As 

25 such, he will not be provided the opportunity to 

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1 question the fairness of the trial, confront witnesses 

2 against him, nor present exculpatory evidence on his 

3 behalf which has recently been uncovered, i.e., eye4 witness testimony affirming Ahmed’s innocence. 

5 (7) Soon after Din arrived in the United States 

6 he applied for asylum but was denied by both the 

7 Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration 

8 appeals. By the time his trial began in Bangladesh 

9 he had already filed a request for political asylum 

10 under the provisions of the United Nations Conven11 tion Against Torture. But after the September 11, 

12 2001, terrorist attacks, immigration law had 

13 changed and Ahmed, accused of taking part in kill14 ing a head of state, was no longer entitled to relief 

15 from deportation. Last February, the U.S. Court of 

16 Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed the immigration 

17 judge’s denial of asylum and related relief. 

18 (8) It is incumbent upon us to find a country 

19 where Ahmed might be granted safe-haven, that 

20 does not condone death penalty, and that respects 

21 human rights. 

22 SEC. 2. DEFERRAL OF ACTION ON DEPORTATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi24 sion of law, for purposes of the Immigration and Nation25 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), Mohuiddin A.K.M. 

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1 Ahmed shall have his final order of deportation indefi2 nitely stayed. 

3 (b) DEFERRAL OF ACTION.—Mohuiddin A.K.M. 

4 Ahmed shall be accorded deferred action status for an in5 definite period, and the Immigration and Customs En6 forcement shall release him from ICE custody with an 

7 order of supervision. As such, Mr. Mohuiddin A.K.M. 

8 Ahmed will not be deported to Bangladesh, or any coun9 try, which maintains an extradition treaty with Ban10 gladesh or which condones the death penalty. 

11 (c) PREFERENTIAL IMMIGRATION TREATMENT FOR

12 CERTAIN RELATIVES.—The spouse and children of 

13 Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed shall, by virtue of such relation14 ship, be accorded the same rights, privileges, or status 

15 under the Immigration and Nationality Act as Mohuiddin 

16 A.K.M. Ahmed. 

17 SEC. 3. PERMANENT RESIDENCE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, for purposes of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), Mohuiddin A.K.M. 

21 Ahmed shall be eligible for adjustment of status to that 

22 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

23 upon filing an application for issuance of an immigrant 

24 visa under section 204 of such Act or for adjustment of 

25 status to lawful permanent resident. 

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1 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—If Mohuiddin A.K.M. 

2 Ahmed applies for lawful permanent residency, he shall 

3 be considered to have entered and remained lawfully in 

4 the United States, and shall be eligible for adjustment of 

5 status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (c) REDUCTION OF IMMIGRANT VISA NUMBER.— 

8 Upon the granting of permanent residence to Mohuiddin 

9 A.K.M. Ahmed, the Secretary of State shall instruct the 

10 proper officer to reduce by 1, during the current or next 

11 following fiscal year, the total number of immigrant visas 

12 that are made available to natives of the country of the 

13 alien’s birth under section 203(a) of the Immigration and 

14 Nationality Act or, if applicable, the total number of immi15 grant visas that are made available to natives of the coun16 try of the alien’s birth under section 202(e) of such Act. 

17 (d) PREFERENTIAL IMMIGRATION TREATMENT FOR

18 CERTAIN RELATIVES.—The spouse of Mohuiddin A.K.M. 

19 Ahmed shall, by virtue of such relationship, be accorded 

20 the same rights, privileges, or status under the Immigra21 tion and Nationality Act as Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed. 

22 SEC. 4. ASYLUM ABROAD. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi24 sion of law, for purposes of the Immigration and Nationmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ality Act Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed shall be permitted to 

2 seek asylum in a foreign nation. 

Æ 

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