China sentences Canadian in case tied to Huawei

A Chinese court sentenced Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison on Wednesday in a spying case that has been linked to Beijing's campaign against the Canadian government over the arrest of an executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Spavor and another Canadian were detained in China in what critics labeled “hostage politics” after the executive, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested at Vancouver airport in late 2018 at the request of U.S. authorities.

A Canadian court will hear final arguments in the next few weeks over whether to hand Meng over to face U.S. criminal charges in connection with possible violations of trade sanctions on Iran.

Canadian Ambassador Dominic Barton met with Spavor after his court hearing at a detention center in the city of Dandong, about 210 miles (340 kilometers) east of Beijing on the North Korean border.

The ambassador said Spavor asked to send three messages: “Thank you for all your support, it means a lot to me. Two, I am in good spirits. And three, I want to get home.”

Spavor was also fined 50,000 yuan ($7,700 US dollars), Barton said.

China has released few details of the charges, other than to allege Spavor was a conduit for intelligence and sensitive information provided to former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig beginning in 2017.

Kovrig also was detained in December 2018 and tried on spying charges, though no word has been given about a verdict. The two have been held in isolation for more than two years with only periodic contact with Canadian Embassy staff.