China sentences Canadian to 11 years in case tied to Huawei

A Chinese court has sentenced Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years on spying charges in a case linked to tech giant Huawei

DANDONG, China -- A Chinese court sentenced Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison Wednesday in a spying case linked to Beijing's pressure campaign against the Canadian government over the arrest of an executive at tech giant Huawei. A Canadian court will hear final arguments in the next few weeks over whether to hand over the executive, Meng Wanzhou, to face U.S. criminal charges in connection with possible violations of trade sanctions on Iran. Spavor and another Canadian were detained in China in what critics labeled “hostage politics” after the executive’s 2018 arrest. On Tuesday, another Chinese court rejected the appeal of a third Canadian whose prison term in a drug case was abruptly increased to death following Meng’s arrest. Canadian Ambassador Dominic Barton attended Spavor's hearing in the city of Dandong, about 210 miles (340 kilometers) east of Beijing on the North Korean border. No word has been given about a trial date for former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was also detained in December 2018 and charged with spying.