Beijing – The trial of Michael Kovrig, the Canadian who has been detained in China for more than two years on allegations of espionage, began on Monday with relations between Ottawa and Beijing in free fall. The hearing comes days after the closed-door trial of another Canadian man, in which both were held in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest on the basis of a U.S. extradition warrant against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
Kovrig, a former diplomat, was arrested in 2018 and formally charged with espionage in June last year at the same time as his fellow countryman, businessman Michael Spavor.
On Monday, police cordoned off an area out of court in Beijing after Canadian diplomats were denied entry and turned down. A court official told reporters no access was allowed because the trial is a matter of national security.
Jim Nickel, the Chargé d’Affaires at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, told reporters he was “very concerned about the lack of access and transparency in the legal process.”
Delegates from 26 countries gathered outside the building on Monday, Nickel said, “lending their vote” for Kovrig’s immediate release.
The US is “deeply concerned about the lack of minimum procedural protections afforded to the two Canadian citizens,” William Klein, acting deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Beijing, told media out of court.
REUTERS
Canadian diplomats were also allowed to attend Spavor’s trial in the northern city of Dandong on Friday, which lasted less than three hours and ended without a verdict being announced.
After that closed-door hearing, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the detention of the two men “completely unacceptable, as did the lack of transparency surrounding these court proceedings.”
China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday defended diplomats being barred from access to court, criticizing those gathering outside as “very unreasonable”.
“Whether it’s a few or dozens of diplomats trying to rally and apply pressure, it’s an interference in China’s judicial sovereignty … and not something a diplomat should be doing,” said a ministry spokeswoman. Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying.
US bid to sue Huawei
The court dates for the two Canadians come as an extradition hearing for Meng goes into final months, and in addition fiery conversations at a high level between the US and China in Alaska.
Meng, whose father is Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, is fighting extradition to the US on charges that she and the company have violated US sanctions against Iran and other laws.
A year ago, the US Department of Justice unveiled allegations, specifically citing Meng, accusing Huawei of orchestrating a successful “decades-long” plan to steal trade secrets from US technology companies.
While Kovrig’s trial was still underway Monday afternoon, former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques told AFP he expected the proceedings to be short.
“China is not even trying to make this look like a real trial as the evidence is not shared with the defense and the judge is not even taking the time to review it,” he said ahead of the hearing. “It only confirms that the process is predestined by the Communist Party and that this is a political matter.”
The Chinese legal system condemns most of those on trial and the two men face life in prison for “espionage” and “disclosing state secrets”.
They have had almost no contact with the outside world since their detention and the virtual consular visits only resumed in October after a nine-month hiatus that authorities said was due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beijing has insisted that the detention of the two Canadians be lawful, calling Meng’s case “a purely political incident”.
“The message to the US is, if you want to help the Canadians, get Meng back to China soon,” said Saint-Jacques.