Wrongfully accused Chinese researcher appeals his case against the FBI

 

ACLU / Hannah Beier

Professor Xiaoxing Xi and his wife outside the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, Sept. 14.

A Chinese scientist working in the US appeals his case asking for damages after the  Department of Justice's questionable China Initiative accused him of espionage, charges that were dismissed for lack of evidence.

In oral argumentsWednesday in Philadelphia at the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Temple University professor Dr. Xiaoxing Xi and his attorneys urged the court to reinstate his claims for damages against the US government for its discriminatory investigation and prosecution of baseless charges that were later dismissed.

Judges seemed persuaded that Dr. Xi and his family endured “malicious prosecution and fabrication” of evidence and expressed considerable skepticism with the Department of Justice’s arguments claiming immunity from accountability for constitutional violations.

FYI: Read case documents from Xi v. United States.

Across the country, civil rights advocates working in Asian, Black, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim communities have united in support of Dr. Xi and his fight to hold the government accountable for its long legacy of targeting people on the basis of their race, national origin, religious identity, or ethnic background under the pretext of national security.

Advancing Justice - AAJC and Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus led an amicus brief supporting Dr. Xi and calling on the U.S. government to end its discriminatory targeting and racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants.. The brief was co-signed by 72 Asian American organizations, civil rights groups, scientific associations, and academic groups.

In 2015, Dr. Xi was wrongfully accused of sharing sensitive technology with scientists in China, a charge for which he faced up to 80 years in prison and $1 million in fines. 

FBI agents entered Dr. Xi’s home with a battering ram, pointed guns at him, his wife, and two daughters, and arrested him. As Dr. Xi’s attorney argued, these actions had “devastating consequences” on him and his family, as Dr. Xi was branded a technological spy, suspended as physics chair at Temple University, and was forced to live with the specter of suspicion for years. Dr. Xi and his family have since been fighting for justice for seven years.

“We are at a juncture today for our communities to turn the tide and support Professor Xi’s efforts to ensure that the federal government is held accountable. Whether Professor Xi and his family are finally afforded justice after a seven year long legal battle will have a powerful ripple effect and signal to many others whether our country can change, take responsibility, and uphold justice,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, director of Anti-Racial Profiling for Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Xi's case and others scientists, researchers and professors who were cleared after the DOJ accused them of spying and selling trade secrets that were later dismissed caused the Biden administration to scrap the Trump-instigated China Initiative earlier this year.

“The Third Circuit panel seemed to understand that the government’s constitutional violations of Dr. Xi’s rights cannot stand,” said Glenn Katon, the Litigation Director at Advancing Justice - ALC. “We are hopeful that the court will reverse the dismissal of Dr. Xi’s case, and that he and his family can proceed to prove how the FBI and DOJ’s fabrication of evidence and racial discrimination caused them grievous harms and restore Americans’ confidence that the government cannot violate our rights with impunity.”

It will take several months before the Third Circuit issues a ruling. No matter the outcome, if Xi's case is appealed by either side, it faces an uphill climb in the US Supreme Court, which has already ruled in several similar cases that the government could not be sued for wrongful arrests and detention.

The FBI refused to comment on this case.

“It’s not because the agent made a mistake or misunderstood something. He knew he was wrong. He knew I was innocent, and he went ahead,” Xi told WHYY.

“We’re determined to fight to the end, because we have to hold the government accountable when they violate the rights of innocent people. And next time, when they are trying to do something like that, they better think twice about the consequences.”

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