A Chinese court on Monday heard a former Canadian diplomat on charges of espionage, Canadian officials said, the second such trial in recent days and one that is likely to intensify tensions between China, Canada and the United States.
A court in Beijing has held the trial of former diplomat Michael Kovrig, held in late 2018, by Chinese authorities shortly after Canada arrested a top executive at Chinese technology firm Huawei at the request of the United States. has.
According to the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, the trial was held in secret with Chinese authorities banning foreign diplomats and journalists from attending. In a token of support for Mr. Kovrig tried more than two dozen diplomats representing 26 countries, including Canada and the United States, on Monday to gain access to the courtroom in Beijing, only to be turned down by security officials.
Mr. Kovrig’s friends, family and former co – workers said he was innocent.
“From the moment he was detained, the political nature of his case was clear,” said Richard Atwood, interim president of the International Crisis Group, a research organization in Brussels where Kovrig worked as an adviser. “Michael must be released immediately so he can return to his loved ones.”
He is the second Canadian to stand trial in recent days on charges of espionage, after Michael Spavor, a Canadian businessman who was also detained in 2018, appeared in court in Dandong, a northeastern city, on Friday. The verdict will be announced later, the court said.
“The arbitrary detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig for more than two years is now completely unacceptable,” said Jim Nickel, a top official at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, who tried to gain access to the courtroom on Monday.
The prosecution of Mr. Kovrig and mr. Spavor unfolded against the backdrop of growing tensions over China’s increasingly assertive behavior on the world stage. Critics described China’s actions as “hostage diplomacy” and called on Canada and the United States to release the two men.
Canadian and US officials described the men’s detention as arbitrary and part of China’s efforts to release Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder, in Canada. Me. Mix is facing fraudulent charges in the United States, which extradites her.
The detention of Mr. Kovrig and mr. Spavor was expected to address when U.S. and Chinese diplomats met in Alaska last week. But the meeting was strained by tensions, and the two parties left without any joint declaration of their willingness to cooperate.
U.S. officials on Monday denounced China’s decision to continue the trials. “The charges are a blatant attempt to use people as leverage,” a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Beijing said in a statement. “The use of arbitrary detention to exercise leverage over foreign governments is completely unacceptable.”
China defended its handling of the case, saying the Canadians were violating Chinese law.
“Chinese judicial bodies are handling matters independently according to the law and fully guarantee the legal rights of the individuals involved,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a news conference in Beijing on Friday.