China put on trial one of two Canadians detained for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive.
Canada said its consular officials were refused permission to attend the proceedings against Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur with North Korea-related business, who is accused by China of stealing state secrets.
Jim Nickel, the Canadian Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, said he was told by Spavor’s lawyer that the hearing ended at noon Friday after two hours. No verdict was announced.
Nickel declined to give other details, citing rules on protecting Spavor’s privacy.
In a statement posted on its website, the Intermediate People’s Court of Dandong in the northeastern province of Liaoning Province said it had held a closed-door hearing against Spavor on charges of spying and illegally sending state secrets abroad.
It said Spavor and his defence lawyers were present for the proceedings and the court would pronounce a sentence at a date “determined in accordance with law.”
A hearing for Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, has been scheduled for Monday.
Outside the courthouse, Nickel said Canada still held hope that Spavor and Kovrig could be released through joint efforts with the U.S., whose Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are holding their first face-to-face talks with China’s top diplomats in Alaska.
“So we’re hopeful that, in some measure, this trial may too lead to their immediate release,” Nickel said.
China’s Foreign Ministry denied any wrongdoing in their handling of Kovrig and Spavor’s case, attributing the timing of their trials to little more than coincidence.
Global Affairs Canada only learned Wednesday that Spavor’s court hearing would proceed Friday, one day after the meetings began in Alaska.
“It is not linked to China-U. S. high-level strategic dialogue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing Thursday.
He insisted that their cases have been handled “in accordance with the law” and “the lawful rights of the individuals concerned.”
But Canada disagrees, calling their detention arbitrary and accusing China of a lack of transparency.
The two Michaels have been in custody since December 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Since then, Canada has been caught in the middle of a trilateral diplomatic tug of war.
Meng is facing fraud and conspiracy charges linked to what prosecutors say was an elaborate effort to evade American sanctions against Iran.
Justice Department officials have refused to say much about the case beyond the fact that they continue to seek her extradition to the U.S.
Critics and allies alike have described the detention of Kovrig and Spavor as retribution for Canada’s role in detaining Meng, and experts see little hope for their release so long as she continues to face charges.
