Pompeo to China: Release Canadians Kovrig and Spavor, held on \u0027politically motivated\u0027 charges
China said on Monday the espionage cases against the two Canadian citizens in the country are unrelated to the ongoing extradition case in Canada against Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou and called for Meng’s release.Asked about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on China to end what he called “arbitrary detention” of Kovrig and Spavor, Zhao said there is no such thing as arbitrary detention in China.
While China maintains the detentions are not linked to Meng, former diplomats and experts have said they are being used to pressure Canada. China has repeatedly called for Meng’s release, and has warned Canada it could face consequences for aiding the United States in her case. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had told a regular briefing on Friday that the indictments of the Canadians were “of particularly serious circumstances which violated Article 111 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China,” which pertains to espionage and state secrets.Article content continued“The facts are clear and the evidence is solid and sufficient.
“We will continue … to put pressure on the Chinese government to cease the arbitrary detention of these two Canadian citizens who are being held for no other reason than the Chinese government is disappointed with the independent proceedings of the Canadian judiciary,” he said.
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