OTTAWA (CU)_The two Canadians who were arrested in China more than two years ago on suspicion of espionage will have court hearings on Friday (19 March) and Monday (22 March), Canada’s Foreign Minister said on Wednesday.
“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,” Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement.
Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, commonly knowns as the two Michaels, were detained nine days after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese Huawei official in Vancouver, on a US extradition request.
While her arrest severely damaged relations between China and Canada, the detention of the pair is widely perceived in the West as retaliation for the arrest of the Huawei CFO. However, Beijing denies these claims, saying the pair are being held on suspicion of endangering national security.
Kovrig has been accused of having used a business visa and an ordinary passport to enter the East Asian nation, in order to “steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017”, while Spavor has being accused of being “a key source of intelligence for Kovrig”, the Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper, reported last week.
In his statement, Garneau noted that the “arbitrary detention” of the pair is a top priority of the government as Ottawa continues to work to secure their immediate release.
“We believe these detentions are arbitrary, and remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings,” he added.
On January 21, Canadian government officials, led by Ambassador Dominic Barton were given on-site virtual consular access to Kovrig, and Garneau assured that the government will continue to provide consular support to the pair and their families “during this unacceptable ordeal”.
In December 2018, Meng was arrested in Vancouver, on a US warrant accusing her of putting HSBC at risk of violating US sanction laws by misleading the bank regarding Huawei’s business dealings with Iran. However, Beijing says her detention is politically motivated and has demanded for her immediate release.
She is currently fighting her extradition case while under house arrest at a luxury mansion she owns in Vancouver.
