Foreign Minister Marc Garneau has revealed that they had been informed that hearings for Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig would hold on March19 and 22.
The Mr Spavor and Mr Kovrig were arrested in China over two years ago and their detention came after Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei, was detained in Canada on a US warrant.
Meng has been placed under house arrest in Vancouver and she is fighting extradition to the United States. She was alleged to have lied to American banks about Huawei’s alleged dealings with Iran but she has denied any wrongdoing.
Garneau told a news conference recently that Mr Spavor would appear in court on March 19 while Mr Kovrig would appear on March 22 in line with the notification from Chinese authorities to Canadian embassy in Beijing. It remains unclear how long the legal process would take.
Garneau said: “We believe these detentions are arbitrary and remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings.”
He said putting an end to the men’s detention remained top priority and officials have been seeking consular access. Also, they are requesting to be present at the proceedings.
The two Canadians have been detained since their arrest in December 2018. They were officially indicted in June 2020.
If found guilty, they will face lengthy jail terms.
