Detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig

Common card · No. 459533

In December 2018, Canadian nationals Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were taken into custody in China. It appeared that their detention on December 10 and subsequent indictment under the state secrets law were linked to the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada on December 1. In English-language media, the pair are frequently and colloquially referred to as the Two Michaels. Prior to his detention and arrest, Kovrig was working for the International Crisis Group out of its Hong Kong office. He previously worked for the United Nations and as a Canadian diplomat. Spavor had been a consultant and the director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, an organization that promotes investment and tourism in North Korea. On September 24, 2021, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Kovrig and Spavor had been released from detention in China after 1,019 days, shortly after Meng was released from house arrest in Canada. In 2023, Spavor accused Kovrig of using him...

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