(Above: Sandy Phan-Gillis is shown with her husband, Jeff, after spending more than two years detained in China. Photo Courtesy Jeff Gillis/Facebook)
Last month (April 2017), Phan-Gillis was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison but was deported after having already served nearly that much time awaiting trial.
She was arrested in 2015 while visiting China with a business delegation from Texas and was accused of visiting twice to spy on the communist nation. Her husband, Jeff Gillis, called the allegations "beyond ridiculous."
John Kamm is the founder of the Dui Hua Foundation, a non-profit who campaigned for Phan-Gillis’ release. Kamm has been in touch with Sandy’s husband since her release and updates us on her return and the lessons learned from this case.