‘I was used to leak information’: Canadian arrested and released in China for disclosure

AFP

Michael Spawer, a Canadian citizen, was released three years after he was arrested in China and said he was not aware that he was being used to leak information about North Korea. In 2018, he was arrested in China along with another Canadian, Michael Kovrig. Kovrig allegedly collected information related to North Korea from Spaver and passed it on to Canadian intelligence agencies. Both were released by China in 2021.

But Canada has denied the allegations against both of them from the beginning. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also denied China’s allegations that the two Canadians were spies. However, with the revelation of Michael Spaver, the diplomatic relations between the two countries have worsened.

Michael Spawer also demanded that Canada compensate him for using him with Michael Kovrig to leak information. He is now asking for millions of dollars. Spaver’s attorney has yet to comment on the allegations. But the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded that the Prime Minister has said the same before and that these allegations have not been proven to be true.

There were also allegations that Spaver and Kovrig were jailed by China in retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Huawei’s senior executive Meng Wanzhou. All three were released from jail in September 2021.

Michael Spaver lived in a Chinese city near the North Korean border. He has personally met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He also had his own travel and tourism business. Michael Spawer has managed the travel plans of former basketball star Dennis Rodman, among others.

Michael Kovrig served as a diplomat in China from 2012 to 2014. Canada’s response is that he may have collected information about security in China as part of his work and this cannot be considered intelligence activity. At the time of his arrest, Michael Kovrig was on leave from his diplomatic career and working for a non-profit organization in Hong Kong.

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