BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has formally charged two Canadians with spying, officials said Friday, more than 18 months after they were arrested in a spat between Beijing and Ottawa.
The pair were detained shortly after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a US warrant, in what is widely believed to have been a retaliatory move from China.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate said ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were “suspected of foreign espionage” and “providing state secrets”.
The move comes just weeks after a key ruling in the Meng case where a Canadian judge ruled that proceedings to extradite her to the United States will go ahead.
© Agence France-Presse