On August 10th, 2021, the Dandong City court found Michael Spavor guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 11 years in prison and the payment of a fine and deportation following the sentence. Spavor was arrested alongside another Canadian, Michael Kovrig, on charges of espionage in December of 2018. The “Two Michaels,” as the cases are commonly known, have caused a stir in Canadian politics and strained Canada’s relationship with China.
Many believe that the arrest of the two Michaels was a direct response by China to Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou. Meng, a Chinese citizen, and executive of the massive multinational technology company Huawei, was arrested by Canadian authorities on December 1, 2018. She was stopped by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police while transiting in Vancouver International Airport.
The RCMP announced that they had detained Meng on behalf of an extradition request by the United States. The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York had issued a warrant for Meng’s arrest on August 22, 2018, and Canada has an extradition agreement with the United States. The US charged Meng with bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. At heart is the claim that Meng had knowingly cleared money for Huawei when it was meant for Skycomm, a Huawei subsidiary that has been dealing with Iran contrary to US sanctions.
What crimes have been committed here? Is this justice being conducted or a complicated game of international relations?
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Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw
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