-Caveat Lector- Monday March 15 4:44 PM ET Judge Dismisses Human Organs Case NEW YORK (Reuters) - The absence of a key witness caused a federal judge Monday to throw out an indictment of two men accused of trafficking in human organs taken from executed Chinese prisoners. The trial of Chen Yong Wang and Xing Qi Fu had originally been set for Feb. 1, but was delayed when it was determined that an informant in the case had left the United States and was refusing to testify. U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts ruled Monday that defense attorneys had shown it would violate their clients' constitutional rights to proceed to trial without being allowed to question the witness. Batts also criticized federal prosecutors for failing to investigate the informant's credibility or reliability. ``The government believes that its investigation and prosecution of this case was responsible and well-founded,'' said Herbert Haddad, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. He said prosecutors disagreed with the judge's ruling and are assessing their options. Defense lawyers had argued that records obtained from the government showed that the informant had instigated the scheme and entrapped Chen and Xing. The defendants were indicted last year for allegedly conspiring to acquire organs from executed Chinese prisoners to be used in transplant operations. At the time, federal officials said the case could provide the first evidence to support dissidents' descriptions of the trafficking in human organs in China. The charges grew out of an FBI sting operation based on information from human rights advocate Harry Wu, who spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps for criticizing the Chinese leadership. According to court papers, Chen, who lives in the New York City borough of Queens, worked previously as a public prosecutor in China. Xing is a Chinese citizen also living in Queens. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________ ___________ Mar 12 | Mar 11 | Mar 10 | Mar 09 | Mar 08 | Mar 05 | Mar 04 | Mar 03 | Mar 02 | Mar 01 Index | Top Stories | Business | Tech | Politics | World | Local | Entertainment | Sports | Science | Health _________________________________________________________________ Questions or Comments Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om