Diplomats from 25 countries condemn Michael Spavor’s sentence
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Picture: BLOOMBERG/DAVID KAWAI
Spavor will also be deported, the court said, without elaborating whether that would happen after his full sentence and whether the almost 1,000 days he has already spent in detention would be deducted from his term. The Canadian side interpreted the ruling as implying that Spavor would not be released until after prison, Barton told reporters via video link from Dandong. While sending Spavor back now could be seen as an olive branch, Beijing has not indicated any desire to compromise on the cases while Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s fate hangs in the balance in Vancouver.
China demanded Meng’s freedom during contentious talks with US diplomats in Tianjin last month and the Globe and Mail newspaper reported in June that Canada and the US have discussed a deferred prosecution arrangement that could lead to her release. Last week, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his opposition to the Canadians’ detentions during a call with Trudeau.
On Tuesday, China upheld a death sentence for Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who had seen his punishment for drug-trafficking increased to death on appeal in January 2019. Canadian diplomats have said they viewed the timing of the decisions as politically driven and foreign minister Marc Garneau condemned the decision to reject Schellenberg’s latest appeal.
The case has Trudeau squeezed between two superpowers and complicated his domestic political situation days before he is expected to call a federal election. Canadian public opinion has hardened against China because of its treatment of Spavor and Kovrig, alongside global criticism of China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and security concerns held by Canada’s Five Eyes allies.
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