A Bridgeport family speaks out after years of separation following an Army veteran's release from Kuwait for a wrongful conviction.

Jermaine Rogers, 48, says he’s a proud U.S. Army veteran who served in the Middle East and then went on to work in the private sector in Kuwait as a military contractor.

"I was convicted of being a drug dealer and sentenced to hang,” said Jermaine Rogers.

He says nothing could have prepared him for what happened in 2015.

Rogers told News12 he was arrested and convicted on "bogus drug charges" and ended up incarcerated, believing he was going to be executed.

His mother says their faith is what kept them strong during the time they were apart.

"It still hurts because I lost a lot of years with my son," said his mother, Carol Rogers.

Rogers claims that he has never used drugs or got into trouble with the law.

He believes that he was arrested in Kuwait due to financial motives.

Rogers says around $300,000 of his life savings were taken by local officials and never returned, even after he received a pardon and was released from custody.

"Nothing in life can prepare you for that kind of a sentence, for that kind of a situation, I don't think there's anything."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal said there's no excuse for the way Rogers was treated by the government in Kuwait.

"Their system doesn't give you the same defense rights, the same presumption of innocence," said Blumenthal.

Rogers says he survived eight years of unjust imprisonment and came very close to being executed.

"I still get sick sometimes thinking about it," said Rogers.

Rogers says he hopes his story will help build awareness of other Americans who are being arrested unfairly in Kuwait.