Two Detained Canadians In China Charged With Espionage

China has charged two detained Canadians for alleged espionage. The two Canadians were first arrested in late 2018 on state security charges.

On Friday, Chinese prosecutors confirmed that former diplomat Michael Koyrig and businessman Michael Spavor had been charged with spying on national secrets and providing state secrets to entities outside China. Their detention followed the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co.’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in Vancouver. She was arrested at the request of U.S. authorities who wanted her on fraud charges related to trade with Iran.

Despite China’s repeated calls for the release of Meng, Canada did not release the businessman. As a result, China threatened Canada, saying the country could face grave consequences for abetting the U.S. in the case of Meng.

The foreign ministry said in December that the probe into the two Canadians had been turned over to prosecutors. The case of Kovrig is currently being handled in Beijing, while Spavor’s is being handled in the northeastern province of Liaoning. Both Kovrig and Spavor have been held for 18 months.

Despite China’s denial of any link between Meng’s case and the lengthy detention of Kovrig and Spavor, experts see China’s move to charge the two Canadians as an apparent bid to pressure Canada to drop the U.S. extradition request for the Huawei executive.

Meng has previously been released on $10 million bail and has been under house arrest in Vancouver for the past year and a half. Despite being under house arrest, her extradition case is still up in court. In May, a B.C judge ruled the U.S. extradition case against Meng could proceed to the next stage.

In August 2013, Meng was accused of lying to an HSBC executive in Hong Kong about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, violating the U.S.’ economic sanctions against Iran.

Meanwhile in China, the two Canadians remain in solitary confinement. Neither Kovrig nor Spavor has been seen by Canadian consular officials since January. However, the espionage charges represent the next step in judicial proceedings against them and mean a formal trial can begin.