Canadian Michael Spavor’s spy trial in China over in less than 3 hours, diplomat says
- Officials are now awaiting the verdict, says Jim Nickel, charge d’affaires of the Canadian embassy in Beijing
- Spavor is one of two Canadians detained for more than two years on espionage charges which Ottawa has called ‘trumped up’
The court hearing for a Canadian man detained in China for more than two years on espionage charges finished after less than three hours on Friday, a Canadian diplomat said.
Canada has attacked the charges against its citizens as “trumped up”, and the three cases have sent relations between Ottawa and Beijing to their lowest point in decades.
Spavor’s family have called for his unconditional release, insisting that he was innocent of the accusations and had done much as a businessman to “build constructive ties” between Canada, China and North Korea.
Jim Nickel, the charge d’affaires of the Canadian embassy in Beijing, told reporters outside the court in northeastern China that the hearing had finished, and officials were awaiting the verdict.
Nickel had earlier told reporters outside the court in the city of Dandong near China’s border with North Korea that Canada was “disappointed by the lack of transparency and the lack of access” to the proceedings, from which Canadian officials were barred.