A Chinese court has sentenced Michael Spavor, a Canadian businessman, to 11 years in prison.
Spavor was found guilty of espionage and getting state secrets by a court in the north-eastern Chinese city of Dandong.
He is one of the many Canadians detained in China whose cases are considered to be tied to the arrest of Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou in Canada.
China has however denied the connections.
Spavor was taken into custody in December 2018 shortly after Meng was detained in Canada.
Michael Kovrig, another Canadian was also detained around the same time, which led to accusations that Beijing was engaging in “hostage diplomacy.”
Meng is accused of bank fraud in the United States in connection with contravening sanctions against Iran.
A trial to determine whether Meng should be extradited to the U.S. is in its final stages in Canada.
Former diplomat Kovrig is also facing trial on espionage charges but no verdict has been reached against him yet.
Relations between China and Canada have been strained since Meng’s arrest. A minimum of three Canadian drug smugglers have since been sentenced to death.
