According to China’s Global Times, Canadian nationals Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor “will soon be tried” for “undermining” China’s “national security in June 2020”.
The Canadians, ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were nabbed in China last year around the time when Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Executive, Meng Wanzhou, and accused her of lying to the HSBC investment bank about the relationship of the company with subsidiary Skycom thereby putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran.
While quoting a source, Global Times said the “Canadians will be tried according to the law”. The Canadians however remain imprisoned in China.
Canada has stated that Kovrig and Spavor were “arbitrarily” jailed in an effort to revenge Meng’s arrest even as China has declared that charges against Meng were “completely political”.
Meanwhile, the trial of Meng continues as she is still under house arrest in Vancouver. Meng has denied every allegation leveled against her but if she is convicted, she could be sentenced to over 30 years in a US prison.
Recently, a Canadian prosecutor said, “Everyone in this courtroom knows that the elephant in the room, in this case, has always been the geopolitical winds that swirl around it.
“Yesterday, my friends tried to bring the elephant into this room — we urge you to focus on the facts and the law and leave the politics to the politicians.”
As expected, Meng’s extradition case in Canada will end in mid-May.
