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3 Americans released from China after years of imprisonment

By Daniel Miller
Updated  November 27, 2024 10:09am EST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX TV Stations
article

Mark Swidan (KRIV-FOX 26 Houston) 

The Brief

    • Three American citizens are returning to the U.S. after they were released following imprisonment in China.
    • Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung were all released and were designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained.

Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released and are returning to the United States.

Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung were all designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained. 

Americans released after being imprisoned in China

Three Americans who were held for years in China have been released, according to the White House. AP says Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, had been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained.

Swidan, a Houston resident, was wrongfully detained in China for more than 10 years, FOX 26 Houston reported. 

RELATED: Houston man 'wrongfully detained' in China for more than 10 years, 'I’m just really mad' mom says

Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced a resolution calling for the release of Swidan in February 2023. 

Swidan was facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li and Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reported that  a U.S. official said the Biden administration had raised their cases with China in meetings over the past couple of years, including in early November when President Joe Biden spoke to Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Politico was the first to report the release of the Americans. 

The Source

  • Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press and FOX 26 Houston, which shares background on Mark Swidan.  The AP offers details on the Americans release and received comments from a U.S. official.