China sentences Canadian to 11 years for alleged spying; Clear case of “hostage politics” says Canada
A Chinese court has sentenced Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for allegedly spying. China's move to charge Spavor is seen as Beijing’s pressure campaign against the Canadian government over the arrest of an executive at tech giant Huawei by Canadian authorities.
Spavor and former Canadian diplomat Kovrig were detained in China in what Canada labeled as “hostage politics” after the Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested at the Vancouver airport in late 2018 at the request of U.S. authorities. Chinese authorities allege that Spavor was a conduit for intelligence and sensitive information provided to Michael Kovrig since 2017. Kovrig also was detained in December 2018 and tried on spying charges, though no word has been given about the verdict.
AP...