One of two Canadians imprisoned in China for nearly three years, Michael Spavor, is accusing fellow prisoner Michael Kovrig of being behind their arrest because his work benefited Canadian intelligence services and their allies.
Published at 11:19 am.
The Globe and Mail newspaper announced Saturday morning, according to multiple sources, that Michael Spavor is seeking multimillion-dollar compensation from the Canadian government. To that end, he reportedly hired Toronto lawyer John K. Phillips, who previously represented Omar Khadr, to begin private discussions with Canada’s Department of Justice and Global Affairs.
PHOTO ARCHIVE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michael Kovrig
Fluent in Korean, Michael Spavor is one of a very select club of Westerners who have met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and several of his senior ministers. In particular, he took part in organizing the meeting between the dictator and the former basketball player Dennis Rodman.
However, according to Globe and Mail sources, his lawyer claims that he was arrested by China based on the information he shared with Michael Kovrig about the North Korean regime. Information that would then have been passed on to the Canadian government and its Five Eyes partners without Michel Spavor’s knowledge.
No secret agents
That’s because Michael Kovrig was working in China at the time as a diplomat for the State Department’s Global Security Reporting Program. Its staff are responsible for collecting information and preparing reports on the security situation in countries of strategic importance to Canada.
These reports, deemed valuable, would then be shared with Canada’s security allies. Employees of the program, like Michael Kovrig, are not considered secret agents and are not allowed to manage, recruit or pay human resources, the Globe and Mail says.
China arrested the two men on espionage charges in December 2018 after Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada at the request of U.S. authorities.
The two men returned to Canada in September 2021 after more than 1,000 days in detention.
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Michael Kovrig (center) with his wife Vina Nadjibulla (left) and sister Ariana Botha after arriving at Toronto Pearson Airport on September 25, 2021.
Accused of espionage
Michael Spavor was accused in China of spying for a foreign company and illegally obtaining state secrets. Michael Kovrig was accused of illegally obtaining state secrets and intelligence information in collaboration with his fellow inmate.
During his detention, Michael Spavor was reportedly forced to sit in a chair for hours by Chinese authorities and was threatened with death. At that time, he admitted to sharing information with Michael Kovrig, again according to a source cited by the Globe and Mail.
A representative for the Canadian government newspaper rejected claims by Michael Spavor’s lawyer that Chinese authorities arrested the two men because Michael Kovrig was allegedly negligent. Their arrests were “completely arbitrary” and not due to “the actions of one against the other,” said this source, still on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Neither Michael Spavor nor his attorney responded to questions from The Globe and Mail. In a written statement, Michael Kovrig said he was “a foreign service officer posted to China as a diplomat and working in accordance with diplomatic laws, rules and regulations.”