Houstonian Mark Swidan to be released from Chinese imprisonment

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WASHINGTON — Houston-resident Mark Swidan will be released from over a decade in Chinese detention as part of prisoner swap, according to several members of Texas’ congressional delegation.

Swidan was arrested and imprisoned in 2012 in China on allegations of drug trafficking and sentenced to death. Texans in Congress have advocated for Swidan’s release for years. Members of both parties have denounced the imprisonment as politically motivated.

Swidan was released along with U.S. citizens Kai Li of New York and John Leung, who had permanent residency in Hong Kong.

“After 12 long years of unjust imprisonment, Houstonian Mark Swidan is finally free,” Sen. John Cornyn said in a statement. “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.”

The release was a major foreign policy victory for President Joe Biden’s administration just before he leaves office.

Sen. Ted Cruz, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, advanced a resolution last year urging the State Department to “deepen and prioritize efforts” to secure his release. The resolution stated that Swidan was denied access to consular services, blocked from contacting his family and coerced into confessing to a crime without evidence.

Cruz praised the Biden administration's efforts in a statement Wednesday.

“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," Cruz said. "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.”

Cornyn cosponsored the resolution, which was agreed to in the Senate unanimously. U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, who represents Swidan’s hometown of Luling, introduced the resolution in the House, cosponsored by members of both parties from Texas. The House agreed to the resolution unanimously as well.

“I’m overjoyed to hear Mark Swidan is finally on his way home to Texas, just in time for Thanksgiving. Mark suffered for 12 long years in a Chinese prison for a crime he clearly did not commit,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said in a statement. “I was proud to fight for him here in Congress and will continue praying for his strength and health as he and his family begin the process of recovering from this nightmare.”

McCaul cosponsored the House resolution and advocated for Swidan’s release publicly, describing the conditions of his imprisonment on the House floor last year.

Two other Texans were released from detention in 2022. Basketball player Brittney Griner of Houston and Marine veteran Trevor Reed of West Texas were freed from Russian prison that year. Texas’ senators pushed for both of their releases.

Austin Tice, another Houston resident, remains imprisoned in Syria. The freelance journalist went missing in 2012 while on assignment in the country.

Cruz and Cornyn have repeatedly called for the State Department to prioritize Tice’s release.