[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2181 Introduced in House (IH)]







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.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed is an innocent Bangladeshi 
        citizen living in exile in the United States. In 1996, a 
        Bangladeshi court erroneously convicted Mr. Ahmed of murder and 
        sentenced him to death in connection with a 1975 coup. Having 
        exhausted all available legal avenues, Ahmed now sits in U.S. 
        custody awaiting his deportation and subsequent execution.
            (2) The circumstances surrounding the trial in absentia and 
        subsequent conviction of Mohiuddin ``Din'' Ahmed, are 
        sufficiently suspect as to warrant the immediate intervention 
        on the part of the United States Government to prevent his 
        planned deportation, which as of now is imminent.
            (3) If the United States Congress, the United States State 
        Department, or the United States Department of Homeland 
        Security fail to intervene on his behalf, or favorably exercise 
        their discretion in this matter, Ahmed will face certain 
        execution by hanging upon his arrival in Bangladesh.
            (4) Following its split from Pakistan in 1971, the newly 
        sovereign nation of Bangladesh experienced a period of violent 
        civil unrest, culminating in the violent coup to overthrow the 
        nation's first Prime Minister, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib) on 
        August 15, 1975. Ahmed had been commissioned as an officer in 
        the East Pakistani military before Bangladesh declared its 
        independence, and he continued to serve during the Pakistani 
        civil war and after independence. On the night of August 15, 
        1975, Ahmed was ordered to station his men at a roadblock 
        roughly one mile from the home of then Prime Minister of 
        Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. That night, a violent coup 
        erupted, and individuals stormed the home of the Prime 
        Minister, killing him and the rest of his family.
            (5) Ahmed, like most Bangladeshis and many international 
        observers at the time, was concerned with Mujib's policies of 
        political suppression and his repeated violations of the civil 
        rights of the Bangladeshi people. However, he had no knowledge 
        of, nor did he support, the violent coup that erupted that 
        night.
            (6) Following the coup, Ahmed went on to serve as a 
        diplomat in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere, until 1996, when 
        Sheikh Hasina Wajed, daughter of the assassinated Prime 
        Minister, came to power, and then broke her promise to respect 
        the Bangladeshi constitutional amendment which provided 
        immunity to officers involved in the 1975 coup. Rather, Sheikh 
        Hasina Wajed orchestrated the repeal of the constitutional 
        amendment, and the arrest of the men she believed were 
        responsible for the death of her father. Under these orders, 
        Ahmed, who had been living in Los Angeles, was tried in 
        absentia, convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging. He will 
        not be allowed to reopen the in absentia conviction. As such, 
        he will not be provided the opportunity to question the 
        fairness of the trial, confront witnesses against him, nor 
        present exculpatory evidence on his behalf which has recently 
        been uncovered, i.e., eyewitness testimony affirming Ahmed's 
        innocence.
            (7) Soon after Din arrived in the United States he applied 
        for asylum but was denied by both the Immigration Court and the 
        Board of Immigration appeals. By the time his trial began in 
        Bangladesh he had already filed a request for political asylum 
        under the provisions of the United Nations Convention Against 
        Torture. But after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 
        immigration law had changed and Ahmed, accused of taking part 
        in killing a head of state, was no longer entitled to relief 
        from deportation. Last February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
        the 9th Circuit affirmed the immigration judge's denial of 
        asylum and related relief.
            (8) It is incumbent upon us to find a country where Ahmed 
        might be granted safe-haven, that does not condone death 
        penalty, and that respects human rights.

SEC. 2. DEFERRAL OF ACTION ON DEPORTATION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 
purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.), Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed shall have his final order of deportation 
indefinitely stayed.
    (b) Deferral of Action.--Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed shall be accorded 
deferred action status for an indefinite period, and the Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement shall release him from ICE custody with an 
order of supervision. As such, Mr. Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed will not be 
deported to Bangladesh, or any country, which maintains an extradition 
treaty with Bangladesh or which condones the death penalty.
    (c) Preferential Immigration Treatment for Certain Relatives.--The 
spouse and children of Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed shall, by virtue of such 
relationship, be accorded the same rights, privileges, or status under 
the Immigration and Nationality Act as Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed.

SEC. 3. PERMANENT RESIDENCE.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 
purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.), Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed shall be eligible for adjustment of 
status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 
upon filing an application for issuance of an immigrant visa under 
section 204 of such Act or for adjustment of status to lawful permanent 
resident.
    (b) Adjustment of Status.--If Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed applies for 
lawful permanent residency, he shall be considered to have entered and 
remained lawfully in the United States, and shall be eligible for 
adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Reduction of Immigrant Visa Number.--Upon the granting of 
permanent residence to Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed, the Secretary of State 
shall instruct the proper officer to reduce by 1, during the current or 
next following fiscal year, the total number of immigrant visas that 
are made available to natives of the country of the alien's birth under 
section 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act or, if 
applicable, the total number of immigrant visas that are made available 
to natives of the country of the alien's birth under section 202(e) of 
such Act.
    (d) Preferential Immigration Treatment for Certain Relatives.--The 
spouse of Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed shall, by virtue of such relationship, 
be accorded the same rights, privileges, or status under the 
Immigration and Nationality Act as Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed.

SEC. 4. ASYLUM ABROAD.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 
purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act Mohuiddin A.K.M. Ahmed 
shall be permitted to seek asylum in a foreign nation.
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