AMN / WEB DESK
Two Canadian nationals have been released from Chinese detention and are flying home to Canada. This was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late last night.
Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were accused of espionage in 2018, shortly after Canadian police arrested a top Chinese tech executive on a US warrant. The two men had maintained their innocence throughout. At a news conference, Mr Trudeau said they had been through an unbelievably difficult ordeal. The Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou, left Canada on Friday after a deal with US prosecutors. The prime minister said both men will arrive in Canada early on Saturday. They are being accompanied by Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China.
Kovrig is a former diplomat employed by International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. Mr Spavor is a founding member of an organisation that facilitates international business and cultural ties with North Korea. In August this year a Chinese court sentenced Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage. There had been no decision in Mr Kovrig’s case. Earlier on Friday, a Canadian judge ordered the release of Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer, after she reached a deal with US prosecutors over fraud charges against her.
In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country was pleased by the Chinese move, but added that the men had suffered more than two-and-a-half years of arbitrary detention. The detentions have sparked years of diplomatic tensions. Critics accused China of detaining the Canadians in retaliation for the arrest of Ms Meng, to use as political bargaining chips. Beijing strongly denied this.