ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS United States Attorney Central District of California Thom Mrozek, Public Affairs Officer (213) 894-6947

November 17, 2000

LOS ANGELES COUPLE CHARGED IN SLAVERY CASE

A husband and wife who currently reside in Los Angeles have been indicted on federal civil rights and immigration charges for holding a female undocumented immigrant woman from Bangladesh against her will and forcing her to work for the couple for five years, United States Attorney Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced today.

Nur Alamin, 40, and his wife, Rabiya Akhter, 32, who are both Bangladeshi nationals, were named in a five-count superseding indictment returned late Thursday by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. The indictment accuses Alamin and Akhter of one count of conspiracy, two counts of involuntary servitude, and two counts of harboring the undocumented woman at their home. (The couple was originally indicted on September 28, but at that time they were only charged with harboring an illegal immigrant. Yesterday's indictment added the conspiracy and involuntary servitude counts.)

The superseding indictment outlines a scheme in which the victim, a 28- or 29-year-old Bangladeshi woman (who is not certain of her age), was smuggled from India to Saudi Arabia to the United States. Upon arriving in Southern California in July 1995, the victim was forced to work as a live-in housekeeper and babysitter with little or no pay for her labor. During the next five years, Alamin and Akhter lived in two residences in Los Angeles and one in Anaheim.

Alamin and Akhter allegedly used force against the victim � including strking her in the face and kicking her � and threatened to harm the victim and her family in Bangladesh if she attempted to leave her employment with them. The victim escaped on June 30, 2000 after she allegedly suffered a beating. An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Alamin and Akhter will be arraigned on the superseding indictment next month. They previously entered a not guilty plea to the two counts of harboring an illegal immigrant. Trial in this case was previously scheduled for January 9 before United States District Judge Manuel L. Real. If they are convicted of all five counts in the indictment, the defendants face a maximum possible sentence of 45 years in federal prison. This case is the result of an investigation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the United States Department of Labor, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Release No. 00-205