"This decision sends a strong message to the federal government: stop targeting innocent Chinese Americans"
Chinese American scientist Sherry Chen was a “victim of a gross injustice” according to a US judge’s ruling.
Xinhua reports that a US judge ruled on Thursday that wrongfully arrested Chinese American scientist was a “victim of gross injustice”.
Judge Michele Schroeder of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) said that the U.S. Department of Commerce did not have cause to fire Chen in 2014. The judge ordered her reinstatement as an employee at the department’s National Weather Service (NWS) and for the department to repay her with benefits.
Chen had been accused by the department of attempting to obtain secret information from a restricted database and lying about it.
“We hope this decision sends a strong message to the federal government: stop targeting innocent Chinese Americans,” the Sherry Chen Legal Defense Fund said in a statement. “Three and a half years after her wrongful arrest in October 2014 and two years after her termination in March 2016, Sherry Chen finally has received justice.”
US federal prosecutors dropped charges against Chen in March 2015. Later that year, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch was encouraged by US Congress members to investigate if federal employees were targeted based on their race.
“There’s been a history of discrimination against Asian Pacific Americans, and the recurrent theme is one of suspicion,” House Representative Ted Lieu said during a press conference at that time.