Judith Chammas

Chammas warned M Morshed Khan, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, that the 2005 Bangladesh bombings would harm the image of Bangladesh as a moderate Muslim country.^[6][7] Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Jamiruddin Sircar was critical of her comments on the terror attacks.^[8] She was also critical of the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack which aimed to eliminate the leadership of Awami League and described it as a threat to democracy in Bangladesh.^[9] She called for investigation into the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and its alleged ties with politicians including those from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.^[10][11]

At a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, Chammas stated that Bangladesh needed 7 to 9 % growth rate to improve the living standards of its people.^[12] She offered American financial support for anti-terrorism operations in Bangladesh.^[13] She visited Madinatul-Ulam Model Institute for Women operated by Rahmat-E-Islam Mission.^[14] She told Bdnews24.com that the United States government does not discriminate between religious and secular parties.^[15]

In March 2006, US Peace Corps suspended operations in Bangladesh over fears regarding terror attacks following the arrest of two Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh leaders which was praised by Chammas.^[16][17] Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, principal secretary to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, told Chmmas that the second in command of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, Mahtab Khamaru, was released on the orders of Tarique Rahman, referred by Siddiqui as Wind Tunnel in reference to Hawa Bhaban.^[18] She was instrumental in renaming American Center Library, U.S. Embassy Dhaka after Archer Blood.^[19]

Chammas represented the United States at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in 2007.^[20] In August 2010, Chammas was appointed the deputy chief of mission in Morocco.^[21] She was the U.S. embassy charge d'affairs in 2011.^[22] In September 2016, Stephanie Miley replaced Chammas as the deputy chief of mission in Morocco.^[23]

Chammas is married to Labib Chammas.^[24] In 2017, Labib Chammas was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a household staff member from 2010 to 2013 while Judith Chammas served as the deputy chief of mission in Morocco. The then-65-year-old also had to register as a sex offender for 15 years and pay a $15,000 fine as part of his sentence.^[24][25] They were staying at a State Department owned house in Morocco.^[26]