陈霞芬状告美国政府最新进展：著名维权机构加入

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原标题：美国公民自由联盟ACLU加入华裔科学家陈霞芬对美国政府的诉讼

by Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

2021年11月9日，美国公民自由联盟（American Civil Liberty Union, ACLU）和著名国际律师事务所Cooley LLP宣布加入美籍华人科学家陈霞芬（Sherry Chen）对美国商务部的民事诉讼，并向美国商务部和司法部提交了新的行政申诉书，代表陈霞芬指控商务部对她进行了“歧视性调查”（Disciscriminatory Prosecution）和“恶意检控”（Mallicous Prosecution）。2014年，美国政府把陈霞芬当作间谍逮捕，第二年却在开庭前撤销了所有对她的指控。

这个进展，为什么很重要？陈霞芬（Sherry Chen）的遭遇跨越了三届总统任期，美国政府针对华裔科学家打击报复行为日益加剧了公众的担忧。

新闻要点

2021年9月，美国参议院发布了一份调查报告，发现美国商务部一个内部的安全部门----“调查和威胁管理处”（Investigations and Threat Management Service, ITMS），存在严重的越权执法行为。紧接着，商务部宣布了自己的内部调查结果，并提出要关闭ITMS。

• 参议院的报告说，ITMS是一支 "无赖的、不负责任的警察部队"，"广泛地针对亚裔美国人雇员比例较高的部门。"

• 针对陈霞芬的调查就是由ITMS发起的。

• 美国公民自由联盟的行政申诉支持陈霞芬在2019年提起的针商务部的诉讼，并根据美国参议院的调查报告所披露的信息增加了几项新的诉求。

背景

2014年10月，在位于俄亥俄州的美国国家气象局工作的陈霞芬因间谍相关指控被捕。但五个月后，联邦检察官撤销了所有对她的指控。

• 陈霞芬后来向美国联邦考绩系统保护委员会（U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, MSPB）提出申诉，状告美国商务部“错误解雇”、”种族歧视“。MSPB的法官作出了对陈霞芬有利的判决，裁定联邦调查人员 "没有发现任何证据表明陈霞芬女士曾向中国官员或商务部以外的任何人提供秘密、机密或专有信息"。

• 国家气象局的上级部门商务部尽管恢复了陈霞芬的职位，但还是强制她行政休假，并拒绝让她回到工作岗位。

• 商务部、司法部都没有对Axios记者的面谈要求作出回应。

陈霞芬的反应

• "政府的错误调查和起诉颠覆了我的生活、粉碎了我的职业生涯。"

• "当我了解到这个流氓的安全单位长期以来的胡作非为、和它对像我这样的亚裔美国人的歧视行为的时候，我感到极度失落。我要求政府为他们针对我和其他众多敬业的联邦雇员做出的那些不法行为承担责任。”

宏观形势

陈霞芬案是一个跨越几十年的大问题的一部分。

• 在冷战期间，美国联邦调查局对大批中国留学生和科学家进行监视，并驱逐了一位美国培养的天才科学家，后来此人帮助中国启动了其太空计划----那就是钱学森。

• 1999年，来自台湾的美籍科学家李文和被指控向中国传递有关美国核武器的信息。但是，大多数指控最终被撤销，李文和获得了160万美元的赔偿。

• 最近，司法部于2018年11月发起的意在打击经济间谍活动的 "中国行动"受挫，并遭到诘问。在这个项目下开庭审判的第一案子上，美国政府败诉，法官宣布田纳西大学诺克斯维尔分校教授胡安明无罪，并撤销了对他的所有指控。

图穷匕见？

美国公民自由联盟的高级律师戈尔斯基（Ashley Gorski）在一份声明中告诉Axios："陈霞芬女士的案件是美国政府针对华裔科学家的系统性的歧视的一部分，非常令人不安。这种系统性的歧视存在于奥巴马、特朗普和拜登三届政府。

戈尔斯基说："通过'中国行动'，联邦政府部门以华裔科学家的种族背景为由，对他们进行了不公正的调查和起诉，破坏了他们的生活。然而，许多案件却以失败告终。”

英文报道原文链接（点击文末阅读原文）：

https://www.axios.com/aclu-joins-chinese-american-scientist-lawsuit-against-us-sherry-chen-d0fb8ecc-fa58-4071-9b81-fdcd9f0d09c5.html

下面是美国公民自由联盟ACLU的新闻发布稿（英文）：

ACLU AND COOLEY LLP JOIN SCIENTIST’S LAWSUIT CHALLENGING DISCRIMINATORY INVESTIGATION AND MALICIOUS PROSECUTION BY ROGUE SECURITY UNIT

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

Sherry Chen, a Chinese American scientist with the National Weather Service, filed an administrative complaint against the Departments of Commerce and Justice stemming from abuses by the Commerce Department’s internal security unit. This unit, known as the Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS), unlawfully investigated and arrested Ms. Chen as part of a broad pattern of discrimination directed at Chinese Americans. The Commerce Department recently announced that it will disband ITMS, following a Senate report detailing how the unit had evolved into a “rogue, unaccountable police force” that operated outside the law and “opened frivolous investigations on a variety of employees without evidence suggesting wrongdoing.”

“The government’s investigation and prosecution of me was discriminatory and unjustified,” said Sherry Chen. “The Commerce Department should be held accountable for the conduct of its illegal security unit, which has had a devastating impact on my life and the lives of so many other federal employees.”

The complaint describes how the unlawful investigation and prosecution of Ms. Chen is part of a broader pattern of government discrimination against Chinese American scientists. This discrimination is also at the heart of the so-called 'China Initiative,’ which was launched by the Trump administration and continues to this day under the Biden administration.

“Until the Biden administration abandons the China Initiative and its discriminatory profiling of Chinese American scientists, we will continue to see baseless prosecutions like Ms. Chen’s,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney at the ACLU National Security Project. “This biased approach has led to failed prosecutions around the country, with horrific consequences for the lives of those affected.”

Based on ITMS’ improper investigation of Ms. Chen, in 2014, the Justice Department charged her with making false statements to government investigators and unlawfully downloading data from a restricted government database. The government’s unfounded allegations rested on Ms. Chen’s use of a shared, office-wide password to access a database relevant to her work. The Justice Department eventually dropped all charges in 2015, but not before Ms. Chen was publicly arrested in front of her colleagues and told she faced a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and $1 million in fines. The Commerce Department also terminated Ms. Chen’s employment. After a federal administrative judge found that the termination was unlawful, the department placed her on indefinite leave, where she remains to this day.

Although the fabricated criminal case fell apart and her termination was found to be unlawful, the Commerce Department has done nothing to remedy, address, or even acknowledge the harms and injustices suffered by Ms. Chen.

“The Commerce Department has repeatedly refused to take responsibility for destroying Ms. Chen’s career,” said John Hemann, partner at Cooley LLP. “Now that the public knows the truth about ITMS’ abuses, the Department must be held accountable.”

In 2019, Ms. Chen filed a civil suit against the U.S. government, seeking accountability for its wrongful prosecution. The claims in Ms. Chen’s new administrative complaint — for intrusion into private affairs, negligent training and supervision, false arrest, intentional and/or negligent infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy — will be incorporated into Ms. Chen’s civil suit if the Commerce and Justice Departments refuse to compensate her for the harms they inflicted.

“Ms. Chen is an award-winning hydrologist whose career was completely derailed by the government’s groundless investigation and prosecution,” said Michele Young, counsel for Ms. Chen. “We will not stop fighting for justice for Ms. Chen — and so many other Asian Americans who were targeted by ITMS because of their ethnicity.”

Ms. Chen is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, Cooley LLP, Michele Young, and Peter Toren.

新闻稿链接：

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/wrongly-prosecuted-chinese-american-scientist-moves-forward-new-complaint-against

下面是ACLU和Cooley LLP代表陈霞芬提交给美国司法部和商务部诉讼状全文链接：

https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/sherry-chen-administrative-complaint-against-departments-commerce-and-justice

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