‘Unacceptable, unjust’: Trudeau fumes after China jails Canadian man for spying

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday condemned China for sentencing Michael Spavor, a Canadian national, to 11 years in jail for “spying” and “illegally providing state secrets”, according to a statement released by the prime minister of Canada’s office.

Referring to China’s conviction and sentencing of the Canadian businessman as “unacceptable and unjust”, Trudeau said that the trial “did not satisfy even the minimum standards required by international law.”

Spavor was under detention since 2018 under espionage charges. The case has been linked to Beijing’s pressure campaign against the Canadian government over the arrest of an executive at tech giant Huawei. The development came a day after the death sentence imposed on another Canadian national was upheld in China.

Issuing a statement from his office in Ontario, Trudeau said that the verdict against Spavor came after “more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention” and “a lack of transparency in the legal process”.

“For Mr. Spavor, as well as for Michael Kovrig who has also been arbitrarily detained, our top priority remains securing their immediate release,” Trudeau said in his statement. “We will continue working around the clock to bring them home as soon as possible.”

Trudeau also added a word for Spavor’s kin and promised all help from the federal government in tiding across the difficult time.

“Our thoughts, and the thoughts of all Canadians, are with Mr. Spavor and his loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” he said. “The Government of Canada continues to provide consular assistance to Mr. Spavor and his family as we work to secure his safe return.”

The prime minister of Canada also thanked the nation’s allies, partners, and friends for their solidarity and support for the release of Spavor and Kovrig, and their opposition to the “practice of arbitrary detention.”

“We will not rest until they are safely brought home,” Trudeau vowed.

Notably, the verdict by the Chinese court today is testing what political commentators have called an already “strained” relationship between Canada and China. Spavor and fellow Canadian ex-diplomat Kovrig were detained in China in what critics labeled “hostage politics” after the executive, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested at the Vancouver airport in late 2018 at the request of US authorities.