The United States Government has demanded from the Chinese authorities the “immediate” release of American nuclear seismologist Chen Youlin, who has been detained and held in pretrial detention since November 2024, after being included in a list of unjustly detained persons.
“The United States has raised Chen’s case directly with the Chinese authorities, urging them to release him immediately. We reiterate our call for his release,” said a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department in statements to Europa Press about the case.
His situation has come to light following complaints from Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey and the scientist’s family making the case public, who has publications on North Korea’s underground nuclear tests and was a Department contractor.
In a statement, the Democratic senator denounced the “unjust detention” of the scientist as an example of a “morally reprehensible tool that authoritarian governments use to evade the rule of law.” “Chen is one of those civilians. The doctor has been unjustly detained by the Chinese government since November 2024,” he said.
“I want to be very clear: Chen has not been convicted of any crime. Since his arrest, he remains in pretrial detention and has not had access to his lawyer for 434 days. Furthermore, he has not been able to communicate with his family since his detention. I am deeply concerned about his safety and well-being,” he warned.
According to the Democratic politician, Chen is a prominent seismologist who has collaborated for years with Chinese colleagues, and whose work enjoys “broad recognition.” “He has never had a security clearance, and his work is transparent, academic in nature, and is published and publicly attributed,” he stated, emphasizing that the situation the scientist is going through harms cooperation between the United States and China and “could deter other academics from working with their colleagues in China.”
Markey in this regard has positively valued that the State Department has included Chen’s case as a person unjustly detained under U.S. law. Thus, he mentioned his contacts with the Chinese Embassy in Washington to work on his release, emphasizing that he will continue doing “everything within his power” to advocate for the seismologist’s release as soon as possible.
