A former American University researcher who pleaded guilty in 2003 to selling sensitive technology to China will not be deported back to her homeland, U.S. Immigration officials said.
U.S. Immigration Judge Paul Schmidt ordered a “relief from removal” order March 20 for Gao Zhan, 44, who admitted selling more than $500,000 worth of military-grade microprocessors to the Chinese government between October 2000 and January 2001, according to U.S. Immigration spokeswoman Susan Eastwood.
Details of the order and the nearly two weeks of hearings that led to his decision have been blocked by Schmidt, who barred the news media from all proceedings and, sources close to the case said, put a “gag order” on all witnesses and attorneys.
U.S. Homeland Security officials were seeking to deport Gao, of Herndon, saying the sale compromised national security. Homeland Security officials last week appealed the judge’s decision, which now sends Gao’s case to the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals. Officials said a decision on the appeal might take as long as six months.
Gao first drew international headlines in February 2001 when she and her family were arrested by the Chinese on suspicion of espionage. She was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Only after an intervention by U.S. authorities — including then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Bush — was she released. Gao received a hero’s welcome when she returned to the United States a month later.
Homeland security officials said Gao returned to her post at American University, but was selling technology to China on the side. Some security officials have suggested her detainment in China was a cover-up to confuse any investigation into the technology sales.
Gao has been held in a Hampton Roads prison away from her husband and their three young children for more than two years. In a recent exclusive jailhouse interview with The Examiner, Gao admitted to selling the equipment, but said she is not a spy — just ignorant and naive.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and Gao’s lawyer, Ladan Mirbagheri-Smith, declined to comment on the case Thursday.
Gao’s defenses
» Gao Zhan pleaded guilty in 2003 to exporting 80 Military Intel 486 DX2 microprocessors to China between October 2000 and January 2001.
» Gao’s husband, Donghua Xue, said he and his wife were never told the technology was federally controlled.
» Gao says sending her back to China means “torture and death.”
» She sold the equipment under the false name “Gail Heights,” which prosecutors pointed to as a sign of her guilt.
