A Chinese court has sentenced Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for alleged espionage.

The trial is seen as an act of retaliation by China for the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer and daughter of the founder of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, in Canada in December 2018. Spavor was at the same time as former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig by the Chinese police a few days after Meng's arrest Has been taken into custody.

Friederike Böge

Political correspondent for China, North Korea and Mongolia.

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The court in the northern Chinese city of Dandong found Spavor on Wednesday "guilty of espionage and illegal disclosure of state secrets to other countries".

In the brief communication from the court it is said that Spavor will be deported from China.

It was initially unclear whether this relates to a point in time after the end of his detention.

In addition, the court ordered the seizure of property worth 50,000 RMB.

The Canadian ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, condemned the verdict "in the strongest form".

The trial was neither fair nor transparent.

Barton called on China to release Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig immediately.

The ambassador was present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced in Dandong.

He then spoke to journalists on video at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing.

He delivered three short messages from the convicted Spavor.

He thanks for the support, is in good shape and wants to go home.

Spavor met Kim Jong-un in person

Spavor had run a company in Dandong on the North Korean border that brokered travel, cultural exchanges and business relationships with North Korea. The Canadian has very good contacts in North Korea. He met ruler Kim Jong-un personally. A photo shows him in conversation with Kim on his private yacht. It arose in connection with the visit of the American basketball player Dennis Rodman to Kim Jong-un, which Spavor had arranged.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig is still waiting for his verdict. China accuses him of espionage in cooperation with Spavor. Kovrig is a member of the International Crisis Group think tank and also worked on North Korea. The trials of both men were held in camera and declared over in March. Canadian diplomats had no access to it except for the delivery of the verdict. China has not provided any details or evidence regarding the allegations against Spavor and Kovrig.

It is the second judgment against a Canadian in China this week. On Tuesday, a court in Liaoning rejected the appeal of Robert Schellenberg, who was convicted of drug trafficking, and upheld the death sentence against him. This case is also seen by the Canadian government in connection with the extradition trial against Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Schellenberg was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2018. A few weeks after Meng's arrest, his sentence was increased to the death penalty.

Huawei manager Meng Wanzhou is now under house arrest in Canada in her own property. The Canadian authorities arrested her in 2018 because of an American extradition request while stopping at the airport. The United States wants to bring her to court on suspicion of bank fraud. The American public prosecutor's office accuses it of having deceived the British HSBC bank about the dealings of a subsidiary of Huawei in Iran, thereby exposing the bank to the risk of fines for violating American sanctions on Iran. Her lawyers argue, among other things, that the former American President Donald Trump saw them as a bargaining chip in the trade dispute with China.