China should immediately release Canadians Spavor and Kovrig, says US top diplomat
- ‘People should never be used as bargaining chips,’ says Secretary of State Antony Blinken
- Canadian citizen Michael Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison on espionage charges
The strongly worded statement followed the sentencing earlier in the day of Canadian citizen Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison on espionage charges and the ongoing detention of Canadian Michael Kovrig, who has not been convicted or sentenced.
“The practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals to exercise leverage over foreign governments is completely unacceptable. People should never be used as bargaining chips,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
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China sentences Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years for spying
“We continue to condemn these arbitrary detentions as well as the sentence imposed against Mr Spavor on August 10,” Blinken continued. “Mr Spavor and Mr Kovrig have not received the minimal procedural protections during their more than two-and-a-half-year arbitrary detention.”