Blinken joins Trudeau in condemning Chinese sentences of Canadians

OTTAWA — President Joe Biden's vow to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau secure the release of Canadians facing "arbitrary" criminal charges in China is under a microscope after Chinese courts handed down sentences this week.

Trudeau condemned a Chinese court decision Wednesday as "absolutely unacceptable and unjust" for sentencing Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage.

“Today’s verdict for Mr. Spavor comes after more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention, a lack of transparency in the legal process, and a trial that did not satisfy even the minimum standards required by international law," Trudeau said in a statement.

The background: The Spavor case, along with the legal ordeals of two other Canadians, are at the nexus of nearly 1,000 days of frayed diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Beijing.

Trudeau has rallied allies to help press Beijing for the freedom of Spavor and fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig, who was arrested in China the same day in December 2018. In a show of solidarity, representatives of more than 25 foreign missions joined Canadians at Ottawa's embassy in Beijing on Wednesday as the court decision came out.

Trudeau's efforts, however, have been unsuccessful and eyes are turning to the U.S. to do more for the men.

Where the U.S. fits in: Washington is also close to the heart of the dispute — with a two-and-a-half-year-old U.S. extradition warrant as the trigger.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Spavor and Kovrig.

"The practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals to exercise leverage over foreign governments is completely unacceptable," Blinken said in a statement released after the Spavor ruling by a court in Dandong. "People should never be used as bargaining chips."

Back in February, following a virtual meeting with Trudeau, Biden himself pledged to work towards freeing Spavor and Kovrig. So far, it’s unclear how Biden intends to help.

At the source: Canadian authorities arrested senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in December 2018 on a U.S. extradition request, a move that infuriated Beijing. She denies wrongdoing and has been fighting extradition in Canadian courts. The process, if it plays out, could take several years.

The Chinese courtroom developments started unfolding this week as extradition hearings for Meng are winding down in Vancouver.

The legal predicaments of the Canadians is widely viewed as retaliation for Meng's arrest.

Trudeau has called the charges against Spavor and Kovrig “trumped-up.” The high-profile cases of the "two Michaels" have become a top foreign policy challenge for Trudeau and are poised to spill into a Canadian federal election campaign that's expected to begin within days.

'Intense' talks involving U.S.: Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau told reporters Wednesday that Dominic Barton, Canada's ambassador to China, spent three weeks in Washington last spring in talks with Biden administration officials about ways to secure the release of the two Michaels.

Kirsten Hillman, Trudeau's envoy to the U.S., has also been working on a constant basis with American officials, he added.

"I can't go into further details, but those intense discussions continue," said Garneau, who later declined to offer more on whether the talks have involved the possible return of Meng to China.

The three Canadians are unlikely to see any change in their legal situations unless Meng is freed. U.S. Department of Justice officials have held talks with Meng's legal team about the possibility of a deferred prosecution agreement, according to sources familiar with the conversations.

The Canadians: Spavor was arrested in China nine days after Meng. The businessperson, who introduced basketball legend Dennis Rodman to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was tried in secret in March.

The same day of Spavor’s arrest, Chinese authorities rounded up Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave. Kovrig was also tried on espionage charges behind closed doors a few days after Spavor.

On Tuesday, another court upheld a death penalty ruling for Canadian Robert Schellenberg, whose initial sentence for a drug-trafficking conviction was 15 years behind bars. A retrial for Schellenberg, a few weeks after Meng’s arrest, transformed his jail term into a death sentence.

After Tuesday's Schellenberg decision, Barton was asked by reporters about a connection between Meng’s extradition proceedings and the cases of the three Canadians in China.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence these are happening right now while events are going on in Vancouver,” said Barton, who added it was “part of the geopolitical process of what is happening.”

What's next: The Schellenberg case will be sent to the Supreme People's Court for review.

Garneau said the Chinese courts had yet to provide a date for Kovrig's verdict.

Spavor's sentence included a fine and a deportation order, though Garneau said the timing of when it would apply is not immediately clear. Spavor plans to appeal the sentence, the minister said.

Spavor met with Barton after Wednesday's verdict and relayed three messages through the ambassador. “One: Thank you for all your support, it means a lot to me. Two: I am in good spirits. And three: I want to get home.”