Tag: Michael Spavor

Conservatives Call on Liberals to Stop Payments to Chinese Infrastructure Bank

OTTAWA—The Conservatives are calling on the Liberal government to stop making payments to the Asian Infrastructure Bank in light of the ongoing detention and lack of transparency around the trials of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China. The party’s foreign-affairs critic Michael Chong says it’s unacceptable that Canada would send about US$40 million to…


China’s Denial of Canadian Consular Access to Kovrig, Spavor Trials Violates Consular Agreement, Expert Says

China has closed the trial of the second arbitrarily detained Canadian, while once again denying consular access to the hearing, a move which an expert says is a violation of consular agreement. Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, faced a closed-door trial on Monday on charges of “spying into state secrets and intelligence” for foreign…


Michael Spavor Tried in Chinese Court, No Verdict Announced

Michael Spavor, one of the two Canadians who have been arbitrarily detained for over two years in China, was tried in court Friday but no verdict was announced. In a statement posted on its website, the Intermediate People’s Court of Dandong in Liaoning Province said a closed-door hearing was held for  Spavor on March 19 on charges…


Secret Trials in China for Spavor and Kovrig Are ‘Disappointing,’ Trudeau Says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the trials being held “without transparency” for the two Canadians who have been detained in China for two years are “disappointing.” Michael Spavor was tried in court Friday but no verdict was announced. Michael Kovrig’s trial is scheduled for Monday. “It is disappointing that the trial that Michael Spavor went through…


Spavor Tried on Spy Charges in China, but No Verdict Announced

DANDONG, China—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…


Canadian Tried on Spy Charges in China, but No Verdict Announced

DANDONG, China—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…


Chinese Media Report Says Michael Kovrig, Michael Spavor to Face First Trial ‘Soon’

OTTAWA—A state-affiliated publication in China says two Canadian men will “soon” receive their first trial after more than two years in detention. But a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada says Canadian diplomats have not been notified of any court hearings and are not aware of any set timelines for trials. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor…


Trudeau Rejects Chinese Ambassador’s Claim That Detention of ‘Two Michaels’ Unconnected to Meng’s Arrest

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has strongly refuted a claim by China’s ambassador to Canada that “there’s no connection” between the detention of two Canadian citizens in China and Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. “It is obvious that the two Michaels were arrested on trumped-up national security charges days after we fulfilled our extradition…


UK Backs Canadian Initiative Against State-Sponsored Arbitrary Detention

Britain announced on Monday that it had joined a Canadian-led initiative to condemn and deter state-sponsored arbitrary detention of foreign nationals for political purposes. By joining the initiative, the UK government is “doing more to safeguard the rights of British people abroad,” the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said in a press release. The…


Canada, Dozens of Allies, Declare Arbitrary Detentions Immoral Amid Kovrig, Spavor

OTTAWA—Canada and has created a coalition with 57 other countries to support a new international declaration denouncing state-sponsored arbitrary detention of foreign nationals for political purposes. The new declaration was born out of a year of behind-the-scenes international diplomacy, spearheaded by former foreign affairs minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Canada has sought global support to free Michael…