Alleged Canadian spies set for trial in China
Duo detained by Beijing in 2018 following arrest of Huawei senior exec in Canada on US warrant
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A member of Vancouver Freedom and Democracy for China with a picture of Canadians Michael Spavor (far left) and Michael Kovrig outside the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver this month. Canada says the duo will go before Chinese courts this week and next.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
OTTAWA • Two Canadians detained by Beijing more than two years ago on suspicion of espionage will go before Chinese courts this week and next, Canada has said, again ramping up diplomatic tension between Ottawa and Beijing.
China arrested the men in December 2018 soon after Canadian police detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of telecommunications equipment giant Huawei Technologies, on a US warrant. She is under house arrest in Vancouver as she fights extradition to the United States.
"Our embassy in Beijing has been notified that court hearings for Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are scheduled to take place on March 19 and March 22, respectively," Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement yesterday.
"We believe these detentions are arbitrary, and remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings."
Beijing insists the detentions are not linked to Meng's arrest.
News of the trial dates comes on the eve of talks between top US and Chinese officials in Alaska, the first such high-level meeting since US President Joe Biden took office on Jan 20.
China's Foreign Ministry, during a regular daily briefing yesterday, declined to confirm the trial dates, but said the hearings are not linked to the Alaska talks.
"The trials have nothing to do with China-US high level strategic dialogue," said ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
Businessman Spavor's hearing will take place in the north-eastern city of Dandong, which shares a river border with North Korea, while former diplomat Kovrig's will be in Beijing, Global Affairs Canada spokesman Jason Kung said in a statement.
The two men face spying charges and it is unclear how long the process may take, but "there will be a verdict", a Canadian government source said.
In a statement, Spavor's family said the charges against him are vague and have not been made public, and that he has had "very limited access and interaction with his retained Chinese defence counsel". They called for the unconditional release of both Spavor and Kovrig.
Mr Jim Zimmerman, a Beijing-based lawyer with Perkins Coie, who is representing the Spavor family, said: "A failure to allow for effective legal representation is a violation of China's international obligations.
"The continued unjust and arbitrary detention, depriving them of their liberty is both unfair, disproportionate and unreasonable."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has sought support from Mr Biden to counter Chinese influence.
Mr Biden, after speaking with Mr Trudeau by video link last month, said: "Human beings are not bartering chips. We're going to work together until we get their safe return."
REUTERS