A former Chinese doctoral student at a US college said Wednesday that he will sue the institution for dismissing him and contributing to his months-long imprisonment at a New Jersey jail on a charge of making "terrorist threats," one day after he returned to China under a "voluntary departure."
Zhai Tiantian, once a PhD student at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, spent almost four months in the Hudson County Correctional Center for allegedly threatening to burn down a school building April 15 after a row with teaching staff, who reported him to police. Zhai insists he didn't make such a threat.
The institute suspended the 27-year-old Xi'an native, who was pursing a doctorate in engineering, March 11 for "major violations of the student code of conduct."
While insisting his innocence, Zhai, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, told the Global Times Wednesday that he was "waiting to be informed by a US prosecutor on a trial date." Zhai said he was determined to take legal action against the institute.
"I will not plead guilty to the charge. I will fight for my rights to the end," Zhai said.
Zhai had turned down an offer granted by the US prosecutor to plead guilty to a lesser charge of "disorderly person," which, while not a criminal offense, could still have landed him in jail for six months. But given his refusal to plead down, the prosecutor pursued the charge of terrorist threatening.
"In a public radio interview in March, I spoke out against the unjustified treatment by the school on Chinese students. My comments must have drawn ire from Joseph Stahley, assistant vice president of student life," Zhai added.
Previous reports said Zhai had a verbal dispute April 15 with his professor, Rafael Collazo, over academic work, which allegedly prompted Zhai to call the school's Howe Center Desk and make a verbal threat to burn down one of the campus buildings.
Zhai was arrested the same day after university authorities reported him to the police. If convicted, he could receive up to five years in jail, according to US law.
The charge of terrorist threatening is a legal term for making verbal threats.
He would have to voluntarily return to the states to stand trial or serve any subsequent sentence.
"I didn't make that call, nor did I threaten to burn the school building," Zhai said.
School authorities could not be reached Wednesday.
Zhai's account conflicted with a report by The New York Times in early July, which quoted Jerry Sova, a friend of Zhai who had visited him in jail, as saying that Zhai had admitted using "provocative words" but insisted he never had any intention of committing arson.
"He told me that he said, 'I'm going to burn down Stevens by suing them and going to ABC and CBS,'" Sova was quoted as saying. "He is somewhat impulsive."
Hai Ming, Zhai's lawyer, told the Beijing Times that he "respects Zhai's decision not to plead guilty, because he should not be wrongly jailed for 4 months under a lesser charge."
Hai said in a statement Wednesday that his client was treated as a major criminal offender before his departure to China from New York's JFK airport in the custody of two US Department of Homeland Security employees, as he was handcuffed with chains around his ankles.
An undated ruling by the New Jersey Immigration Court, a copy of which was obtained by the Global Times, said Zhai's application for voluntary departure was granted under safeguard until August 30.
Interpretations of the case vary, as some claim it is an example of racial discrimination and indicates a flawed US justice system, while others say Zhai deserves to be punished for his inflammatory words.
Mo Shaoping, a human rights lawyer, told the Global Times that "many Chinese students in the US do not realize that some of their actions are against local laws."
"Students studying overseas should have a better knowledge of local laws and regulations," he added.
Recent data released by China's Ministry of Education showed that the number of Chinese students studying in the US has steadily increased in the past few years.
