OTTAWA (Reuters) -The case of two Canadians detained by China for more than two years has gone on for too long, Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said on Wednesday, suggesting a quick solution to the crisis seemed unlikely.
Garneau made his comments after a Chinese court sentenced businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage. Garneau slammed what he called a completely unjustified verdict after “a mock sham trial”.
Spavor and fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig were arrested in December 2018, shortly after Vancouver police picked up Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. arrest warrant.
Ottawa says the cases are clearly linked, a charge China has consistently denied.
Canada is still involved in intense talks with Washington and Beijing to secure the return of Spavor and Kovrig, who also faces spying charges, Garneau added.
“It’s an ongoing process and I know it’s been (going) on for over two and a half years, but it is a process we will not give up on. And we feel it is something that Canada must continue to do,” Garneau told a news conference.
(Reporting by David LjunggrenEditing by Chizu Nomiyama Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
