Xi Jinping and the Chinese Government have increasingly come under scrutiny for their continuing human rights violations. This scrutiny has become even more prominent amid reports surrounding the wrongful detention of an American on death row in China.
The American in question is Mark Swidan, a Houston, Texas native who was sentenced to death in 2013 for drug trafficking in China. In a harrowing turn of events, the Chinese government has refused to provide any evidence or confirm any involvement of Swidan’s for the crime in question. Consequently, human rights activists and groups such as Amnesty International have declared Swidan innocent and argued for his immediate release from Chinese prison.
Swidan’s mother, Judy Swidan, has urged President Biden to confront Xi and bring up her son’s name during their meeting. Judy has appealed to the President to demand justice for her son and force the Chinese government to follow their due process of law.
Judy Swidan expressed her gratitude at Biden’s upcoming meeting and urged him to display a firm stance in dealing with the Chinese government. She also said that there should be no compromise on the issue of human rights and that the President must call out China for their continued violations of international law.
It has been almost eight years since Mark was wrongfully convicted and detained in an overcrowded prison in Szechuan, China. Judy Swidan believes that her son has been denied his due right to a fair trial and his innocence has been distinctively ignored by the Chinese government. She feels that enough is enough and has urged the President to take action and save her son from a wrongful conviction and execution.
It is clear that the Biden-Xi meeting is of utmost importance to Mark’s family as his mother has pleaded to the President to bring up her son’s name and ensure that no innocent person gets subjected to such a cruel legal system.
We hope that President Biden succeeds in his endeavors and ensures that justice is served. We can only pray that the Chinese government immediately releases Mark Swidan and gives him and his family relief.