After Ruling in Huawei Case, China Charges 2 Canadians

Detained men face espionage charges
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 19, 2020 12:19 AM CDT
China Charges 2 Detained Canadians With Spying
In this March 28, 2018 image made from video, Michael Kovrig, an adviser with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based non-governmental organization, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong.   (AP Photo, File)

Chinese prosecutors charged two detained Canadians with spying Friday in an apparent bid to step up pressure on Canada to drop a US extradition request for a Huawei executive under house arrest in Vancouver. Michael Kovrig was charged in Beijing on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence. Michael Spavor was charged in Dandong, a city near the North Korean border, on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets. Both men have been held for 18 months. They were detained shortly after the December 2018 arrest of Meng Wanzhou. Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was arrested at the request of US authorities who want her on fraud charges related to trade with Iran.

A Canadian judge ruled this month that the US extradition case against Meng could proceed to the next stage. China has denied any explicit link between her case and the lengthy detention of the two Canadian men, but outside experts see them as tied and Chinese diplomats have strongly implied a connection, the AP reports. Meng has been released on bail while her extradition case proceeds in court and is residing in one of her two Vancouver mansions where she is reportedly working on a graduate degree. Kovrig and Spavor are being held at an undisclosed location and, up to now, have been denied access to lawyers or family members. (China has also sentenced two other Canadians to death and suspended imports of Canadian canola, while saying those moves were also unrelated to Meng’s case.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X