China prosecutes Michael Covrig, amid tense relations with the United States and Canada

The Canadian government has denounced the Chinese allegations as “arbitrary detention” and “hostage diplomacy” aimed at Meng’s release. China, angered at the arrest of Meng at Vancouver airport, likened its treatment of Canadians in self-defense and Canada to “a thief who shouted to arrest a thief.” China does not have an independent judiciary, and innocence in a prominent position in political issues has never been heard of before. The cases will almost certainly end in guilty convictions and long prison terms, preventing a high-profile intervention or swap bargain that includes the US dropping the charges against Meng. China announced the Spafor and Coffrig trials on the eve of the meetings between senior Chinese diplomats and Biden administration officials in Alaska on Thursday and Friday, which turned into sharpness as the two sides accused the other of human rights violations and arrogant behavior. President Biden spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the issues this month. Past and pledged to work with Canada on the husband’s release, declaring that “humans do not exchange chips.” The Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it had continued to call on China to “end the arbitrary and unacceptable arrests of Canadian citizens.” Diplomats from Canada were denied access to the courtroom on Monday, in clear violation of consular agreements between China and Canada. The foreign press and diplomats from nearly twenty countries, including the United States and Britain, were also prevented from entering the building. “We have repeatedly requested entry in accordance with the Vienna Agreement on Consular Relations and the Canadian Consular Agreement with China but these requests are,” Jim Nickle, vice president of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, said in an email from outside the courtroom that Canadian officials have expressed concern about other aspects of the case. , Including a half-year period when Covrig was interrogated daily and kept in a cell with the lights 24 hours a day. Spavor’s closed trial appeared to last only two hours on Friday, as the court declared it would not release a verdict until a later date. US authorities accused Meng of defrauding banks to evade sanctions against Iran. Canadian officials detained her at Vancouver airport on December 1, 2018, and hearings for Meng’s extradition are entering her final phase in Canada this month. Her lawyers argued that the CEO was targeted in a manner. Unfair as part of a politicized US campaign to destroy Huawei, the Chinese tech giant. Covrig’s wife, Vina Njibola, told a Canadian talk show Sunday that the only way is The hand to secure Michaels’ release will be “a concerted diplomatic effort by the three governments to find a way forward.”