11-yr jail for Canadian for spying in China

TORONTO/BEIJING: Tensions between Ottawa and Beijing escalated on Tuesday after a Chinese court handed down a verdict sentencing Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison on charges of spying.

The development came a day after the death sentence imposed on another Canadian national Robert Schellenberg was upheld in China on charges of drug smuggling.

A court in the Chinese city of Dandong convicted Spavor of spying and illegally providing state secrets to other nations. He was ordered to be deported from China after the completion of his 11-year sentence. Spavor was also ordered to have his personal property worth 50,000 yuan ($7,715) confiscated.

The Canadian government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has repeatedly said the detention of Spavor and also that of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig were a case of “hostage diplomacy”.

The European Union has reacted sharply to the development, calling for “procedural fairness” in the handling Spavor’s case going forward.

The latest verdict came as the trial hearing for the extradition case of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, approaches its conclusion this month.

Meng was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 on charges of attempting to defraud a bank to bypass sanctions on the Iranian regime. Spavor and Kovrig were detained in China days later.

“China’s conviction and sentencing of Michael Spavor is absolutely unacceptable and unjust,” said Canadian PM Trudeau in a statement.