US scientist Turab Lookman pleads not guilty to lying about contact with Chinese state programme that recruits foreign talent
- State-run Thousand Talents plan has added to US concerns about potential espionage from China
- Judge releases Lookman on US$50,000 bail despite prosecutor saying it would be a ‘national security disaster’ if he flees
A long-time scientist for a US laboratory in New Mexico pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he lied about contacts he had with a state-run programme in China that seeks to draw foreign-educated talent.
Turab Lookman, who lives in Santa Fe and until recently worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory – tasked with securing the nation’s nuclear stockpile, conducting research and reducing weapons threats – entered the plea to charges of making false statements during a federal detention hearing in Albuquerque.
A judge decided that Lookman could be released while he awaits trial on a US$50,000 secured bond, despite a federal prosecutor’s argument that he posed a potential security threat if he tried to flee the country.
“If he fled, it would quite frankly be a national security disaster,” said George Kraehe, a prosecutor with the US Attorney’s Office in New Mexico.
Authorities said Lookman came under scrutiny after he told a colleague that he had citizenship in four different countries – including India, where he was born.