(CN) - A Chinese immigrant does not qualify for U.S. asylum because he participated in the Chinese government's scheme to sell the organs of executed prisoners on the black market, the 2nd Circuit ruled.
Guo Qi Wang claimed that he feared being returned to China after violating his agreement with the Chinese government not to expose its program of harvesting organs and tissue from executed prisoners.
Wang testified that he made payments for bodies on behalf of the military hospital where he worked and that he removed the skin from cadavers "about 100 times."
In a per curiam decision, the judges of the New York-based federal appeals court ruled that Wang's involvement in the scheme renders him ineligible to stay in the United States.
"The serious nonpolitical crime bar rendered Wang ineligible for asylum," the judges wrote.
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