China releases US citizen imprisoned for nearly 20 years

September 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The US State Department has confirmed that Chinese authorities have released an American citizen identified as David Lin, a priest who had been imprisoned for 18 years in the Asian country for collaborating with the construction of an unauthorized religious building.

“We welcome the release of David Lin from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and reunited with his family for the first time in nearly 20 years,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press briefing.

The spokesman said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had raised Lin’s case with Chinese authorities in numerous meetings, as he does with “other unjustly detained Americans” in his discussions with other countries.

He also said Washington was continuing to work to secure the release of US businessmen Mark Swidan, accused of drug trafficking, and Kai Li, accused of espionage, who are also in prison in China. Lin, 68, was sentenced to life imprisonment for contract fraud, a charge he himself denied.