A Chinese court on Wednesday jailed Canadian businessman Michael Spavor for 11 years after finding him guilty of spying in a case his country has decried as “trumped up”. The decision likely to further undermine already poor relations between China and Canada. Spavor was detained in 2018 along with compatriot Michael Kovrig in what Ottawa said was a politically motivated move after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a US extradition warrant.
Relations between the two countries have hit rock bottom, with China also accusing Canada of politicising legal cases. Meanwhile, critics have accused China of treating both Spavor and Kovrig as political bargaining chips, held as part of what is known as “hostage diplomacy”. Spavor, who did business in North Korea, “was convicted of espionage and illegally providing state secrets”, Dandong city’s Intermediate People’s Court said. The Court in a statement published on Wednesday said: “For the crime of spying and illegal provision of state secrets abroad [Spavor] has been sentenced to 11 years in jail, confiscation of 50,000 yuan ($7715: £557) worth of personal property and deportation.” The Spavor verdict comes a day after a Chinese court upheld the death sentence of another Canadian citizen on a drug smuggling conviction. Spavor and Kovrig — a former diplomat — were formally charged with spying in June last year, and their separate trials took place in March. Michael Kovrig, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, also faces spying charges and was tried shortly after Spavor in March. He is still awaiting the verdict.
