A Canadian entrepreneur called . was arrested in China The Canadian arrest comes just days after a Huawei executive was found guilty on espionage claims and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
The decision in the Michael Spavor case, which was delivered on Wednesday morning, put Beijing under pressure ahead of a Canadian court ruling on whether to hand over a Chinese executive to face US criminal charges.
Spavor and fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig were detained in China by critics as “hostage politics” following the 2018 arrest of Meng Wanzhou in connection with a possible breach of trade sanctions on Iran.
He was secretly tried separately earlier this year, after spending more than 830 days in custody.
On Wednesday a court in Dandong announced that Spavor had been found guilty of spying and illegally providing state secrets to other countries, according to reports. According to a statement from the Liaoning Dandong Intermediate People’s Court, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison, forfeiture of personal property and fined 50,000 yuan ($7,715). The court also said that Spawar would be deported but it was not clear when that would happen.
Spower is entitled to appeal the ruling, but China’s notoriously opaque justice system rarely appeals and regularly posts a conviction rate of more than 99.9%.
Separately on Tuesday, a court dismissed the appeal of a third Canadian, Robert Schellenberg, who had a prison term in a drug case. rose to sudden death Following the executive’s arrest, Canada’s foreign ministry condemned the decision, calling it a “brutal and inhumane punishment”. The statement drew a rebuke from China’s embassy in Canada that it violated China’s judicial sovereignty.
Canadian Ambassador Dominic Barton, who participated in the Schellenberg regime, said he would visit Spawar in Dandong, about 210 miles (340 km) east of Beijing, on the North Korean border.
Barton said he had no indication of when Kovrig’s decision might come, but said it was “no coincidence” that decisions against Spavor and Schellenberg were being held as Meng’s case ended. .
All three cases are suspected to be linked to the ongoing extradition hearing Canada, where Meng and his lawyers put their case before a judge that his extradition should be rejected. In the coming days, the Canadian government will argue that extradition should be pursued.
Western governments have accused China of engaging in “hostage diplomacy” by arresting citizens and linking their fate to bilateral disagreements or, in the case of Canada, legal action against Chinese citizens. Diplomats from dozens of countries gathered at the Canadian embassy in Beijing on Wednesday to hear Spavor’s decision.
Beijing denies prosecuting Schellenberg, Spavor and Kovrig are retribution for Meng’s arrest. Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has said the charges against the two Michaels are “immediate” and that Chinese officials were “very clear” that the cases were linked.
Canada and other governments, including Australia and the Philippines, face increasing pressure from China in disputes over human rights, the coronavirus and territorial claims. Washington has warned Americans that they face “a great risk of arbitrary detention” in China for reasons other than enforcing the law.
“It’s hard to know if China really believes that we have a legal system that is separate from government intervention. I really don’t know if they appreciate that reality,” said Stephanie Carwin, professor of international relations at Carleton University. One professor said. “But the fact is that it is no coincidence that these decisions are being made this week.”
While Spavor’s sentence has been condemned by Canadian officials and allies, it still represents movement in the case. “Silver has the thinnest layer; As legal processes move towards some kind of conclusion, we are headed for an endgame,” Carvin said.
She pointed to a former diplomatic feud that began in 2014, in which Canada’s Kevin and Julia Garrett were detained, charged, and in China after Canada extradited Su Bin, a suspected spy, to the US. The sentence was handed down. China had not released the Garrett family until this entire process was completed.
“While there are elements of similarity in matters, I worry that the China of 2015 is not the China of today. We have seen a far more aggressive foreign policy and security policy than the country itself,” Carvin said.
That aggression – and a series of frosty meetings between US and Chinese officials – has dampened hopes that a deal between the two countries could be imminent.
Also, legal experts have previously said that Meng’s case could take nearly a decade if she appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada.