Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are on their way home to Canada after more than 1000 days of captivity in China.
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Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are on their way back to their home country, three years after they were arrested in China. This is confirmed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to the public broadcaster CBC.
They have been imprisoned in China for over 1,000 days.
– These two men have had it incredibly difficult the last 1000 days. They have shown strength, endurance and dignity and we are all inspired by that, Trudeau said.
Spavor was sentenced to eleven years in prison for espionage, a ruling Canadian authorities believe was politically motivated. Kovrig was also charged with similar offenses.
They were arrested immediately after Huawei boss Meng Wanzhou was arrested, but China has consistently denied that the two cases have any connection. Earlier Friday, Meng became Wanzhou released from house arrest in Canada. There she was set after being released on bail in 2018.
She was arrested on a stopover in Vancouver after the United States issued an arrest warrant for her for violating sanctions against Iran by reselling equipment from the American IT company Hewlett-Packard.
This led to a diplomatic tangle between China and Canada.
Chinese authorities claimed in December 2018 that they had not been given any reason for the arrest of Meng, and China threatened Canada with sanctions if she was not released. Just two days later, on December 10, 2018, the two Canadians were arrested in China.
The conflict also led China to pursue trade policies to express its anger, including when in June 2019 they blocked all shipments of pigs from Canada, according to Reuters.
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