Lawyers for Tang Juan, a Chinese researcher arrested in California last month for allegedly concealing her ties to China's military, are returning to court to seek her release on bail a second time, saying that coronavirus cases in the jail where she is being held have put her at risk of the pandemic.
They also say that even if Tang, who had been a visiting medical researcher at the University of California, Davis, is eventually found guilty, she might only face a short prison sentence, and that an outside benefactor has volunteered to house her and help ensure she does not flee the country.
US Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman in Sacramento, California's capital city, is expected to decide on Friday afternoon whether to grant Tang pretrial release. She was already denied bail once, on July 31 - after her arrest and before her indictment - because the court found that she was a flight risk.
Tang's lawyers say circumstances have changed, and that the original ruling should no longer apply. For one thing, by the time a trial takes place on the charges she faces of visa fraud and making false statements - her lawyers say the judge indicated it might not be scheduled until next year or even 2022 - she might already do more time in prison than what she could be sentenced to.
"The problem addressed by the judge was how could the government reasonably keep someone - charged but not proven guilty - confined in jail pending a trial almost two years later when the punishment, even if there was a conviction, would likely be six months or less and even at its worst little more than a year?" said Malcolm Segal, a lawyer on her defence team.
"And, is it fair to do so during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought diagnosed cases of the virus to the jail?"
According to court documents, Tang, 37, entered the US in December on an educational exchange visa to conduct cancer treatment research at UCD, but did not disclose apparent military ties in her visa application. The count of visa fraud carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison; the false statements charge carries a charge of up to five years.
After being interviewed by the FBI on June 20, Tang fled to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and stayed there for weeks before she was finally taken into custody on July 23. The charges for her arrest were filed on June 26.
The Chinese flag flies over the Consulate General of China in San Francisco. Juan Tang, a researcher at the University of California, Davis, who took refuge in the consulate, was arrested for allegedly lying to investigators about her Chinese military service. Photo: Getty Images via AFP alt=The Chinese flag flies over the Consulate General of China in San Francisco. Juan Tang, a researcher at the University of California, Davis, who took refuge in the consulate, was arrested for allegedly lying to investigators about her Chinese military service. Photo: Getty Images via AFP