Canadian accused of spying in China blames inmate for arrest
ONE of two Canadians jailed in China for nearly three years on espionage charges is suing the state after claiming his fellow inmate really was a spy.
Michael Spavor, who was the director of a firm that promotes tourism in North Korea, is seeking a multimillion-dollar settlement from the Canadian government over allegations that the other jailed man, Michael Kovrig, was linked to its intelligence services.
He claims he had not realised that Mr Kovrig, a former diplomat in Canada’s foreign service, was a spy and that information he passed to him on North Korea would end up in the hands of the Five Eyes intelligence network.
Both men, known as the “Two Michaels”, were subjected to interrogations for up to eight hours a day during their imprisonment, in what is thought to be a retaliation for the arrest of a Huawei employee in Canada.
Their arrests caused a major diplomatic incident between Canada and China that was ultimately resolved with their release in September 2021.
Mr Spavor is one of the few Westerners with a personal relationship with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, and has been photographed jet-skiing and drinking cocktails with him on a private yacht.
He was charged with spying for a foreign entity and illegally procuring state secrets, while Mr Kovrig was charged with receiving state secrets and conspiring with Mr Spavor.
A “highly placed” source told Canada’s Globe and Mail that Mr Kovrig was considered an intelligence asset during his postings in Hong Kong and China.
The two men’s imprisonment coincided with the prosecution of Meng Wanzhou on charges of bank and wire fraud. She is the chief financial officer of Huawei and daughter of the firm’s founder. Although the Chinese government denied any connection between the Meng case and the “Two Michaels”, they were all released on the same day .
A Canadian foreign ministry spokesman said both men were free to “speak out about their experience of their arbitrary detention in China”, but said no further information could be disclosed due to “privacy considerations”.
“China’s arbitrary detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig was unjust and unacceptable,” he said.
“As the PM noted in 2021, China’s conviction of Michael Spavor on charges of espionage were unfounded, and came after a trial that did not satisfy even the minimum standards required by international law.
“Perpetuating the notion that either Michael was involved in espionage is only perpetuating a false narrative under which they were detained by China.
“These two men went through an unbelievably difficult ordeal and every day of their arbitrary detention showed strength, perseverance, resilience and grace.”