A former Yale student acquitted of rape charges in 2018 — but later expelled from the Ivy League institution — can sue her accusers for defamation over statements she made during a hearing at the school, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled this summer.
Saifullah Khan, 30, has been facing a pending $110 million defamation suit against the Ivy League institution since 2019. Khan had fought to bring his accuser, a fellow student, into the suit in connection with the 2018 university hearing that ultimately resulted in his expulsion.
The Connecticut high court granted Khan’s request in June. The court ruled that the accuser should not receive “qualified immunity” from her school’s testimony that Khan raped her after a Halloween party in 2015.
Qualified immunity protects people from being sued for statements they make in judicial or “quasi-judicial” cases.
But the high court said the university trial was not a standing court proceeding, as Khan was not given an opportunity to cross-examine the accusers.
“For absolute immunity to apply under Connecticut law,” the June decision said, “fundamental fairness requires meaningful cross-examination in proceedings such as the one at issue.”
Former Yale student Saifullah Khan won a bid to sue his rape accusers for defamation in June.Twitter/@Saif__khan
Khan has sought to add accusers to the ongoing $110 million defamation lawsuit against the Ivy League school.BBC
During the trial, Khan’s team listened to the woman’s testimony from a separate room and never got a chance to question her. The court ruling said this caused his defense attorney to act as a “potted plant.”
The court also said the Yale trial could not be considered quasi-judicial because they did not make the woman testify under oath and they did not provide Khan with a transcript of the testimony.
Khan, who is originally from Afghanistan, began attending the school on a full scholarship in 2012 and majored in neuroscience.
Khan’s lawyer Norman Pattis argued that his client did not get a fair trial through the university.Riyad Hasan
Khan was expelled from Yale in 2019 following a hearing held by the school.Shutterstock
Her education was completely derailed after an alleged rape in which a 21-year-old acquaintance claimed he took advantage of her when she was heavily intoxicated following an off-campus Halloween costume party.
At the hearing, Khan’s lawyer argued the meeting was consensual.
Khan was suspended from classes amid the allegations and later returned to school after his release in 2018 — despite widespread opposition to his return, including a petition with 78,000 signatures.
He was eventually kicked out of school in 2019.
Attorneys for the accuser and Khan’s lawyer did not immediately return requests for comment Sunday.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
