BEIJING—Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a Chinese court’s sentencing of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage on Wednesday was “absolutely unacceptable” and called for his immediate release.
The U.S. Secretary Of State Antony Blinken condemned the sentencing of Spavor and another Canadian accused with espionage in a statement. He stated that Spavor’s trial was an attempt to use people “bargaining chips .”
“.
The espionage case is entangled in a larger diplomatic spat between Washington and Beijing. Spavor’s sentencing comes at a time when lawyers in Canada representing the chief finance officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei try to persuade a Canadian court to not extradite Spavor to the United States.
Huawei Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou (C) arrives at the British Columbia Supreme Court with her security detail in Vancouver, British Colombia on March 22, 2021. (Don Mackinnon/AFP via Getty Images)“China’s conviction and sentencing Michael Spavor are absolutely unacceptable and unjust,” Trudeau stated in a statement.
” The verdict for Mr. Spavor comes following more than two-and-a half years of arbitrarily detained, a lack transparency in the legal proceedings, and a trial which did not meet even the minimum standards of international law.” he stated.
Trudeau demanded the release of Spavor and ex-Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig who are awaiting a verdict on his espionage case.
(L) Michael Spavor, director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, talks during a Skype interview in Yanji, China, on March 2, 2017. (R) Michael Kovrig, an adviser with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based non-governmental organization, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong on March 28, 2018. (AP Photo
China detained both Spavor and Kovrig in late 2018, just days after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver International Airport on a warrant from the United States.
Canada’s ambassador to China Dominic Barton visited Spavor in a northeastern China detention center following the verdict. He said Spavor had three messages he wanted to share with the outside world. “Thank you so much for your support”, “I’m in good spirits”, and “I want home .”
” While we disagree with these charges, we realize that this is the next stage in the process of bringing Michael home and we will continue supporting him through this difficult time,” the Spavor families stated in a statement.
Noting the presence of diplomats from 25 countries gathered at the Canadian embassy, Barton said that “our collective presence and voice sends a strong signal to China and the Chinese government in particular, that all the eyes of the world are watching.”
Diplomatic representatives from Canada and more than two dozen other countries pose for a group photo at an event held in connection with the announcement of the sentence for Canadian citizen Michael Spavor at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on Aug. 11, 2021. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)Blinken urged China to release Spavor & Kovrig “immediately, unconditionally”.
” It is absolutely unacceptable to arbitrarily hold individuals in order to exert leverage over foreign governments. He said that people should not be used as bargaining chips.”
The Dandong Intermediate Court also said 50,000 yuan of Spavor’s personal assets will be confiscated. Barton stated that he will be deported upon completion of his sentence.
The potential sentence ranged from 5 to 20 years.
China detained Spavor in December 2018 and he was charged with espionage in June 2019. The Dandong court concluded a one-day trial in March 2021 and waited till Wednesday to announce the verdict.
Spavor’s family stated in March that the charges against him were vague and not made public. They also said that he had only “very limited interaction and access to his retained Chinese defense counsel .”
Kovrig was convicted in the espionage case. The verdict will be announced at a later date.
Some observers believe that the convictions of these two Canadians might lead to an agreement where they are freed and returned to Canada.
China has a conviction rate of well over 99 percent, and public and media access to trials in sensitive cases is typically limited.
China has executed four Canadians for drug-related charges since Meng’s arrest. These are Robert Schellenberg and Fan Wei, Ye Jianhui and Xu Weihong.
The Chinese regime rejected the suggestion that cases in China of Canadians are connected to Meng’s case here in Canada. However, Beijing warned of unspecified consequences if Meng wasn’t released.
Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on her way to a court appearance in Vancouver on Jan. 17, 2020. (Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images
Meng has been charged with misleading HSBC Holdings PLC regarding Huawei’s Iran business dealings. This could have led to the bank violating American economic sanctions against Tehran.
Meng has been fighting for her extradition since she was under house arrest in Vancouver.
Her extradition hearings in Canada are in their final few weeks before a ruling by the judge. This ruling is expected sometime in March, before Canada’s justice Minister makes a final decision about whether or not to extradite her.
By Yew Lun Tian
https://www.theepochtimes.com/trudeau-condemns-chinese-courts-11-year-sentence-in-canadians-espionage-case_3943746.html, The Epoch Times
Read More
source https://ihomenews.com/trudeau-condemns-chinese-courts-11-year-sentence-in-canadians-espionage-case/
No comments:
Post a Comment