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Court dismisses motion filed by asylum seekers
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Posted on Jun 26 2000
The petition by two Chinese nationals for political asylum here suffered another blow after the U.S. District Court on Friday denied two motions that would have consolidated their cases against the CNMI, the federal government as well as their various officials.
Judge Alex R. Munson cited as ground for the rejection the case not being properly before the court. He had previously issued decisions dismissing their lawsuit in the federal court due to lack of jurisdiction.
Rui Liang and Liao Da Nian, who are citizens of the People’s Republic of China, sued both the CNMI and federal governments and 25 of their officials to force them to process their asylum application.
The court practically dismissed the suit when it dropped the two governments as defendants, but without prejudice for re-filing of the case. Lawyer Bruce L. Jorgensen represented the two asylum-seekers.
Federal officials had refused to accept the asylum applications of both Mr. Rui and Mr. Liao due to lack of jurisdictions, forcing the two to sue the U.S. as well as the CNMI governments and other local and federal officials to force them to do so.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged violations of two international treaties that guarantee political asylum for those with fear of persecution in their own countries.
Mr. Rui and Mr. Liao, who earlier were detained on overstaying charges at a CNMI immigration facility but were later freed by the Superior Court, have maintained in their asylum applications that they are in danger of being “personally threatened or harmed” by authorities of the communist government if they are sent back to Beijing.
