Houstonian Mark Swidan survived 12 years in a Chinese prison, but he says coming home was the hard part

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — For more than a decade, Mark Swidan dreamt about getting home. What he didn’t imagine was how hard life would be once he finally did.

In his first Houston television interview, Swidan opened up about his life behind bars in China and what it’s been like over the last year. Inside a small two-bedroom apartment in west Houston, Swidan is far from the life he once lived.

Before his arrest, Swidan, who grew up in the Alief area, was running a successful import-export business, traveling often, and working for himself. That all changed in 2012 during a business trip to China.

“All of a sudden they run in, guns drawn, screaming in Chinese, pointing guns at my face,” Swidan said.

He says police handcuffed him, forced him face-down on a bed, and denied him basic legal rights. Authorities accused him of drug trafficking and pushed written confessions, all in Chinese, he said, demanding he sign.

“I didn’t know what they were talking about,” Swidan said. “I asked for my consulate. I asked for a lawyer. They told me, ‘This is China. You can’t have that.'”

At first, Swidan believed it was a mistake that would quickly be cleared up. Instead, he was sent to a detention center in the country, where he spent the next 11 years in harsh, crowded conditions with no running water. He lost more than 100 pounds.

To show his mother what was happening to him, Swidan said he sent home coded drawings and letters, embossing messages so guards wouldn’t notice. He drew hundreds of pieces to pass the time.

In 2018, nearly six years after his arrest, Swidan was sentenced to death.

“There was nothing,” he said. “Not one piece of evidence.”

While Swidan was locked away, his mother, Katherine Swidan, refused to stay silent. ABC13 interviewed her over the years. Behind the scenes, she reached out to lawmakers, diplomats, and human rights advocates, determined not to let her son be forgotten.

“He’s my baby. He’s my son,” she said. “I’ll never give up.”

In November 2024, Katherine got a phone call before dawn.

“Someone said, ‘I’ve got somebody who wants to talk to you,'” she recalled.

Inside the prison, Swidan was suddenly woken up and told to gather his things. After 12 years, he was finally free, released along with U.S. citizens Kai Li of New York and John Leung, who had permanent residency in Hong Kong.

Video from when they touched down at Joint Base San Antonio showed people eagerly deplaning. Swidan’s first photo was in an American flag T-shirt his mother had sent him years earlier.

“A lot of people played a role,” Swidan said. “But my mom, she’s the reason I’m here.”

One year later, life back home hasn’t been easy.

“You don’t have a driver’s license. You don’t have credit. You don’t even really have an identity,” Swidan said.

His mother sold nearly everything to pay for his legal defense, which Swidan estimates cost close to $1 million. Despite what he went through, they said there’s little support for Americans returning home after being held overseas.

“You’d think there would be help,” his mother said. “There isn’t.”

Now, Swidan is focused on rebuilding his life and caring for his mother, who is in poor health. The future is still uncertain, but he’s holding on to hope.

“I don’t know what’s next,” Swidan said. “I just hope it’s something good.”

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