Detained Americans Fast Facts

Here's a look at some recent cases of foreign governments detaining US citizens. For information about missing Americans, see Robert Levinson Fast Facts or POW/MIA in Iraq and Afghanistan Fast Facts.

China

Mark SwidanNovember 13, 2012 - Swidan, a businessman from Texas, is arrested on drug related charges by Chinese Police while in his hotel room in Dongguan.

2013 - Swidan is tried and pleads not guilty.

2019 - Convicted of manufacturing and trafficking drugs by the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court in southern Guangdong province and given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve.

April 13, 2023 - The Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court denies Swidan's appeal and upholds his death penalty.

Kai Li September 2016 - Kai Li, a naturalized US citizen born in China, is detained while visiting relatives in Shanghai.