Hostage Envoy on U.S. National Sentenced to Death by China: ‘We Have an Effort’ to Free Him ‘We Have to Just Kind of Let Things Play out’

On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department Roger Carstens said the U.S. government is “disappointed” in China upholding the death sentence of American national Mark Swidan — who has been classified as wrongly detained — and that “we have an effort right now with the Chinese and we have to just kind of let things play out” and China holds “the key to the jail cell, and it’s going to be up to us to find that way to bring him back.”

Carstens stated, “Well, we were disappointed in that ruling. We were hopeful that the Chinese would perhaps relent and allow Mark to come home. As you said, he’s been held for ten years now in pre-trial detention, some pretty tough conditions. I’ve had a chance to fly down to see his mother on a few occasions. My team’s actually flying down tomorrow to see her, to spend some time with her to discuss what we’re doing. But we have an effort right now with the Chinese and we have to just kind of let things play out. This is tough. At the end of the day, the Chinese — just like the Russians — they hold the key to the jail cell, and it’s going to be up to us to find that way to bring him back.”

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