China has released David Lin, an American pastor who had been jailed since 2006, the State Department said on Sunday, marking the release of a man whom Washington accused of being improperly detained.
For years, US politicians have called on Beijing to release Lin, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of contract fraud.
A State Department spokesperson said, “We welcome the release of David Lin from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and is now able to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years.”
Lynn’s daughter Alice previously told Politico that her 68-year-old father would arrive in San Antonio, Texas.
“There are no words that can express the joy we feel — we have a lot of time to make up for it,” he said, as quoted by Politico.
Last November, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee asked President Joe Biden to use a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to push for the release of Lin and two other detainees – Kai Li and Mark Swindon.
Washington says the three were unjustly detained. China says such cases are handled according to the law.
A congressional committee is expected to hold a hearing next Wednesday on the case of American citizens imprisoned in China, specifically Lin, Li and Swindon, who the committee said have faced health problems.
