China deports U.S. citizen convicted of spying after two years in custody

China has deported an American citizen who was convicted and sentenced on an espionage charge after she was held in custody for more than two years.

A spokesman for the State Department confirmed that the U.S. is aware Chinese authorities deported 45-year-old Sandy Phan-Gillis on Friday.

The deportation follows a trial last week where Phan- Gillis was convicted of spying for the U.S. government from 1996 to 1998.

She was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Phan-Gillis, an international business consultant from Houston, was detained by authorities on March 19, 2015, when she visited southern China.

Her family says she was simply on a trade mission with Mayor Ed Gonzalez of Houston to promote business relations between the city and China. Phan-Gillis' husband, Jeff Gillis, says his wife was not allowed to speak with her lawyers for more than one year and that China State Security had tortured her into making a false confession.

He said in a statement that the trial was closed to U.S. officials, journalists and family members. "Many of Sandy's friends and family members have been crying tears of joy throughout the day," Gillis said in a statement.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said Phan-Gillis was unjustly "separated from her family" and detained in China on "baseless charges."

"Today, she is released and free again," he said in a statement. "This is a day of great celebration for her family and all Texans."