VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A Canadian judge agreed on Thursday to delay the planned deportation of accused smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing, one of China's most wanted fugitives.
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Lai, who fled to Canada in 1999 with his family, had asked for the delay while he challenges a ruling by immigration officials that he would not be subject to torture or execution if returned to China.
The Canada Border Service Agency has been poised to remove Lai since last week, but the judge's order stayed deportation at least until a federal court rules if it will hear his latest legal challenge.
Federal Judge Carolyn Layden-Stevenson said Lai faced irreparable harm if he were deported now, because it was unlikely that China would allow him to come back if he eventually won the Canadian court case.
Lai is accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar operation that bribed officials and police to avoid taxes and duties on goods ranging from fuel to cigarettes smuggled into China's coastal Fujian province in the 1990s.
Lai, 47, who is under house arrest in Vancouver, has denied wrongdoing and alleges the accusations are politically motivated. But Canadian immigration officials have sided with China and rejected Lai's attempts to get political asylum.
Canada says it has received diplomatic assurances from China that Lai will not be executed if returned and convicted, but Lai argues that China will ignore that promise once he is in their custody.
"The issue of the assurances lies at the heart of the debate... Removal at this time would cause Mr. Lai to face the risk that he alleges is present and that he argues is present and that he argues has not been adequately assessed by (immigration officials)," Layden-Stevenson wrote in the ruling.
Canada, which does not have capital punishment, has traditionally refused to deport accused and convicted criminals to countries where they face execution.
China has said that it wants Lai returned as soon as possible, and a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told reporters on Thursday before the court ruling was released that the countries have remained in close contact on this issue.
Lai has not been convicted by a Chinese court, but officials have used his case as an example of efforts to stop corruption - including creating a museum out of the mansion in Xiamen where he is alleged to have bribed officials.
A smiling Lai greeted Chinese-language reporters outside his downtown Vancouver apartment building, saying that he was happy with the decision and had faith in the fairness of the Canadian judicial system.
Lai's defense attorneys allege that Canada wants to deport him to maintain good relations with Beijing. They question why last month's immigration report allowing his removal was released to the Chinese government before it went to Lai.
Canada is also trying to deport Lai's wife Tsang Mingna and the now-divorced couple's three children.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060601...XWF9gAKpvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-So
This is what disturbs me the most. Not the crime the man did, or alleged to have done. But we are willing to deport a man against our principles that he and his family might be tortured or killed to maintain good relations with China. Especially with this immigration report that was sent to China to notify them. I don't like it and because of this he should stay.
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Lai, who fled to Canada in 1999 with his family, had asked for the delay while he challenges a ruling by immigration officials that he would not be subject to torture or execution if returned to China.
The Canada Border Service Agency has been poised to remove Lai since last week, but the judge's order stayed deportation at least until a federal court rules if it will hear his latest legal challenge.
Federal Judge Carolyn Layden-Stevenson said Lai faced irreparable harm if he were deported now, because it was unlikely that China would allow him to come back if he eventually won the Canadian court case.
Lai is accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar operation that bribed officials and police to avoid taxes and duties on goods ranging from fuel to cigarettes smuggled into China's coastal Fujian province in the 1990s.
Lai, 47, who is under house arrest in Vancouver, has denied wrongdoing and alleges the accusations are politically motivated. But Canadian immigration officials have sided with China and rejected Lai's attempts to get political asylum.
Canada says it has received diplomatic assurances from China that Lai will not be executed if returned and convicted, but Lai argues that China will ignore that promise once he is in their custody.
"The issue of the assurances lies at the heart of the debate... Removal at this time would cause Mr. Lai to face the risk that he alleges is present and that he argues is present and that he argues has not been adequately assessed by (immigration officials)," Layden-Stevenson wrote in the ruling.
Canada, which does not have capital punishment, has traditionally refused to deport accused and convicted criminals to countries where they face execution.
China has said that it wants Lai returned as soon as possible, and a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told reporters on Thursday before the court ruling was released that the countries have remained in close contact on this issue.
Lai has not been convicted by a Chinese court, but officials have used his case as an example of efforts to stop corruption - including creating a museum out of the mansion in Xiamen where he is alleged to have bribed officials.
A smiling Lai greeted Chinese-language reporters outside his downtown Vancouver apartment building, saying that he was happy with the decision and had faith in the fairness of the Canadian judicial system.
Lai's defense attorneys allege that Canada wants to deport him to maintain good relations with Beijing. They question why last month's immigration report allowing his removal was released to the Chinese government before it went to Lai.
Canada is also trying to deport Lai's wife Tsang Mingna and the now-divorced couple's three children.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060601...XWF9gAKpvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-So
This is what disturbs me the most. Not the crime the man did, or alleged to have done. But we are willing to deport a man against our principles that he and his family might be tortured or killed to maintain good relations with China. Especially with this immigration report that was sent to China to notify them. I don't like it and because of this he should stay.