Houston man among 3 released from Chinese prison
Mark Swidan
HOUSTON - A Houston man sentenced to death in a Chinese prison more than 10 years ago is among three prisoners who will soon return to the United States, the White House said.
Mark Swidan was detained in 2012 while on a business trip to China to purchase flooring when he was accused of trafficking drugs. Records indicated Swidan hadn't been in China at the time of the alleged crime.
Swiden was sentenced to death in 2019.
A United Nations report said that the 11 other people arrested with Swidan as part of the alleged trafficking ring could not identify him. His conviction was based on his visiting a factory that had once been used to manufacture methamphetamine, Fox News reports.
"After 12 years, the Swidan family is extremely grateful that Mark is coming home. Katherine and Mark will have more to say in the days ahead, but for now we are asking for privacy as the family is reunited. That this is happening during the Thanksgiving holiday gives them and the nation even more to be grateful for," wrote an attorney for Mark Swidan.
Ambassador Nicholas Burns (left), Mark Swidan (center) and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens (right)
A photo from the plane ride home shows Swidan with Ambassador to Chine Nicholas Burns and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens.
Swidan is wearing an American flag shirt in the photo.
Also released were Kai Li and John Leung, who were imprisoned on espionage charges, according to the Associated Press.
The three were designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained by China.
Last year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a resolution calling for Swidan's release.
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On Wednesday, Cruz released the following statement:
"I am overjoyed that Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released and are returning to their families. I could not be happier for Mark’s mother Katherine Swidan, who from her home in Luling, Texas, has spent 12 years waging an unremitting battle to ensure Mark’s release and make today a reality.
"President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Carstens, Ambassador Burns, and their teams have for years worked tirelessly to secure this achievement, and I am deeply grateful for all their efforts. Negotiations aimed at securing the release of unjustly held Americans are among the most difficult and wrenching tasks that our diplomats face, and they have shown unceasing dedication culminating in today’s release. This joyous news would not have occurred, and these families would not have been reunited, without their work and commitment."
Sen. John Cornyn (R- Texas) also released a statement about Swidan's release.
"After 12 long years of unjust imprisonment, Houstonian Mark Swidan is finally free," Cornyn said. "Mark has suffered unimaginable conditions and treatment after being wrongfully detained at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, which has proven time and time again that it has zero regard for human rights, truth, or justice. I join all Americans in celebrating his long-awaited return home, and I urge the State Department to continue working to secure Texan Austin Tice's release."
Harrison Li, the son of Kai Li, told Fox News that his father was detained in China while traveling there for a memorial service for his own mother.
Li has been in prison since 2016.
Leung was sentenced on espionage charges in 2023 after first being detained in 2021.