(TotalConservative.com) – Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) gave a passionate plea on the floor of the Senate while introducing a resolution to demand the immediate release of American Mark Swidan from his imprisonment in China.
Over ten years ago, Swidan was arrested in China when he attempted to return to the states from a business trip with his family. He was detained while authorities demanded access to his cell phone. In 2019, he was convicted with no forensic evidence against him of participating in a criminal drug trafficking conspiracy and sentenced to death. Thankfully his sentence has not yet been carried out.
Cruz spoke with Swidan’s mother, Katherine, who asked Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to “say their names,” referring to her son and other Americans being detained in China on questionable charges. Blinken will be traveling to China and speaking with Communist party officials and Cruz wants to see Blinken “use all the tools at our disposal to secure his release.”
His resolution is co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) and elaborates on details of Swidan’s detainment including the torture-like conditions living in a Chinese prison and how his health has deteriorated during his captivity. Despite the agony, Cruz relayed the fact Swidan has not lost his faith or hope during his ordeal.
Two other Americans are held in China and are classified as “wrongful detainees” by the State Department, which Anthony Blinken runs. Their families have been ramping up the pressure on the Biden administration to secure their release in the wake of Britney Griner’s release from Russia with a high-profile prisoner exchange. Is the Biden administration only willing to flex its political muscle for celebrities?
Griner was detained for ten months, while Swidan has languished in a Chinese prison for over ten years. Kai Li has been held in China since 2016 on allegations of spying and is currently serving a ten year sentence. David Lin has been also imprisoned for over ten years on false allegations of fraud though the real reason he was targeted likely has more to do with his work as a Christian missionary.
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