Thursday, March 25, 2021

Canadians on Trial for Espionage in Beijing

Michael Spavor (left) and Michaek Kovrig (right)
"The Chinese side urges the EU side to reflect on itself, face  squarely the severity of its mistake and redress it."
"It must stop lecturing others on human rights and interfering in their internal affairs. It must end the hypocritical practise of double standards and stop going further down the wrong path."
"Otherwise, China will resolutely make further reactions." 
"[The EU's sanctions against four Chinese officials for Uyghur human rights abuses were based on] nothing but lies and disinformation [interfering with China's internal affairs]."
"[The Canadian side had assembled a group of diplomats to] point fingers [and is] wantonly interfering in China's judicial sovereignty."
Hua Chunying, Spokesman, Chinese Foreign Ministry
"We are deeply troubled by the total lack of transparency surrounding these hearings [two Canadians charged with espionage] and we continue to work towards an immediate end to their arbitrary detention."
"The eyes of the world are on these cases."
Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau

"Michael [Kovrig] and Michael Spavor are innocent Canadians caught up in a bigger geopolitical dispute."
"Their detention is profoundly unjust and our focus must remain on securing their freedom."
Vina Nadjibulla, Michael Kovrig's wife
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Outside a courthouse in Beijing diplomats from the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Czech Republic and others stood in solidarity with Jim Nickel, Canadian charge d'affaires of the Canadian embassy in China. He spoke to reporters telling them that the Canadian mission had "requested access to Michael Kovrig's hearing repeatedly but that access is being denied [ostensibly for national security reasons]. Now we see that the court process itself is not transparent. We're very troubled by this."

The two Michaels, one a former diplomat, the other a China-based entrepreneur, had been arrested just days following the arrest by the RCMP in Vancouver of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei Technologies, based on a U.S. warrant. They have been incarcerated virtually incommunicado for over two years. Their 'trials', held in camera, were each held within a week of each other. Chinese authorities would not permit Canadian diplomats consular access to either the two Canadians or their trials.

On Monday, members of the diplomatic corps of other countries stood symbolically with the Canadian representative outside the courthouse where all were denied entry as observers to court proceedings. It was well known and acknowledged that these court proceedings without exception deliver guilty verdicts in 99.9 percent of such cases. In this case, the detention of the two Canadians has been universally recognized as 'hostage diplomacy'.

Both men will be found guilty. Former Canadian ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques explained that the two men have "no chance, because it's all preordained by the Communist party". Despite that Beijing insists there is no connection between Spavor and Kovrig's detention with the arrest of Meng, despite that in June Chinese government spokesman Zhao Lijian stated that should Canada take steps to halt Meng's extradition proceedings it "could open up space for resolution to the situation of the two Canadians".

Meng remains for the time being in Vancouver on bail, living for the past two years in one of her two Vancouver mansions, free to live a normal life and to attend the occasional extradition hearing in her case where her lawyers are arguing the unlawfulness of her detention. Knowledgeable observers note that as long as the Meng case remains unresolved there are no hopes that the two Michaels will be released from custody. Now that their 'trials' went to process, the next step is their eventual penalty for being Canadians in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Their sentences will be more lenient than the death penalty even though the penalty in China for espionage ranges from ten years in prison to as permanent as life imprisonment. Four other Canadians are also in custody, on drug charges. Their drug offences had netted them jail time, but coincidentally to the two Michaels being charged with espionage, the other Canadians' penalties were upgraded to death sentences for narcotics offences.
 
Diplomats, including representatives from Canada and the U.S., stand outside the Beijing court where Michael Kovrig's trial is taking place. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

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posted by Pieface @ Thursday, March 25, 2021

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