In 2019, Swidan was charged with drug trafficking in China and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a court in Guangdong.
[3] In 2012, Swidan traveled to China to buy supplies such as furniture, flooring, fixtures and helium for his home and business.
[13][11] She told CBS that guards broke her son's hand five to seven times, he had dislocated his knee, and he suffered from periodontal disease.
[15] His mother reported that he was forced to beg for food and to produce silk flowers while exposed to toxic chemicals.
[16][17] Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens made it a priority to secure Swidan's release.
[5] National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan raised Swidan's wrongful detention with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi as a personal priority for President Joe Biden.
[18][20] In its submission to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Chinese government said Swidan was the principal offender in a drug trafficking scheme, citing his contact with two groups of narcotics producers, facilitating their arrival to China, providing assistance at the drug-manufacturing site where they worked, and transferring money to them.
[6] In response, the Working Group said Swidan's detention was wrongful and called for him to be immediately released with an enforceable right to compensation.
[22][23] Professor Donald C. Clarke, an expert in Chinese law, said that a long verdict delay could be because of an internal controversy within the judicial system, with actors questioning the case's merits.
"[24] Peter William Humphrey, who was arrested in China for allegedly illegally acquiring personal data, called Swidan's detention a case of hostage diplomacy.
[25][11] In 2014, Swidan shared a cell with Terry Lee, an Australian-educated Chinese businessman who claimed he was jailed for refusing to pay a bribe.
[18][26] John Kamm, its chairman, wrote to the Chinese government about Swidan's detention 40 times and received three or four responses.
[7] He told Newsweek, "the only 'evidence' against him is that Swidan once visited a factory where Chinese authorities allege the meth was manufactured, and that he had been in a room rented by another person where drugs were found.
"[12][27] In November 2024, Mark Swidan was released from his detention along with two other American citizens as part of a prisoner swap with China.