Actor Mel Gibson is looking for the discharge of Mark Swidan, a Texas man who’s on death row in China after being “wrongly detained” on drug charges greater than a decade ago.
Swidan, a businessman from Houston, was arrested in 2012 on charges of dealing and manufacturing methamphetamine.
He was convicted and sentenced to death with a postponement in 2019 despite an absence of evidence – a choice China upheld earlier this month.
“The US government has demanded his release and we as Americans should rise up for this man who represents one of the best of us.” – Oscar-winning star he said in a video statement sent to NewsNation on Tuesday.
The U.S. State Department said Swidan, 48, was “wrongly detained” in response to China’s decision to uphold the death penalty, and asserted that China “will proceed to press for his immediate release.”
The UN working group also concluded that he had been arbitrarily detained in violation of international law.
“I’m asking all of you to raise your voices and demand Mark’s release and pray that he returns to his family,” Gibson, 67, added within the video.
According to a UN investigation, Swidan traveled to China in 2012 to secure low-cost furniture and other goods for his latest home in Houston.
He was also there to buy helium on contract for an organization in his hometown.
On November 13, he was arrested in a hotel in southern Guangdong province.
Chinese authorities accused Swidan of belonging to a gaggle that produced greater than 139 kilos of methamphetamine.
His mother, Katherine, said her son had lost his teeth and lost over 100 kilos as he deteriorated in a jail cell without proper care.
“He wrote and said: Mom, I’ve never been so cold in my life” she told NewsNationclaiming that her son is being forced to sleep on cardboard in a cement cell with no heating or air con.
“He slept with the sunshine on for nearly 11 years.”
The UN also found that Swidan had been subjected to coercion, ill-treatment and poor legal defense – in violation of his right to a good trial.
The ‘Braveheart’ actor described Swidan as ‘a person of great faith’ in his fervent plea.
“He’s a person of great faith, an American patriot, and while in captivity, he refuses to surrender each his faith and his country,” said Gibson.
Swidan was arrested together with 11 co-defendants from Canada, China, Mexico and the US.
According to the UN, he was held in pre-trial detention for 63 months.
With postal wires