Wednesday, 11 August 2021 (YJC)_ Secretary of State condemned the Chinese government for the continued detention of two Canadian citizens.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday condemned the Chinese government for the continued detention of two Canadian citizens and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
The statement by the secretary follows the sentencing by a Chinese court of Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage, 2 1/2 years after he was first detained.
Canada, joined by international partners including the U.S., has condemned the lack of transparency of the judicial process and restriction of any contact from diplomatic interlocutors.
Blinken condemned the sentencing, saying Spavor and fellow detained Canadian citizen Michael Kavrog “have not received the minimal procedural protections during their more than two-and-a-half-year arbitrary detention.”
“In my discussions with [People’s Republic of China] officials, I have raised several cases of both U.S. and Canadian citizens subject to arbitrary detentions and exit bans in China, and I strongly support the immediate and unconditional release of all those whom the People’s Republic of China has arbitrarily detained,” the secretary said.
Blinken further criticized the Chinese government for using the individuals as “bargaining chips.”
“The practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals to exercise leverage over foreign governments is completely unacceptable. People should never be used as bargaining chips.”
The Biden administration has been working in close consultation with Canada over efforts to release Spavor and Kavrog.
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