The case of Spavor, a Canadian businessman who has been imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party for two years, was heard behind closed doors at the Dandong Intermediate Court in Liaoning Province. Officials from the Canadian Embassy in China, as well as 10 diplomats from nine countries, rushed to the court to observe the trial, but were stopped by Chinese police outside the court.
The Canadian Embassy has repeatedly asked the Chinese authorities to see Spavor before the trial, but has been denied access.
Jim Nickel, Deputy Ambassador of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, expressed his disappointment at the lack of transparency in the trial in Beijing and reiterated that the Chinese authorities are violating international law by detaining Canadian citizens and not allowing diplomats to attend the trial.
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Diplomats from various countries, including Deputy Ambassador Jim Nickel of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, wait outside the Dandong Intermediate Court for access to the trial of Canadian businessman Spavor on March 19 behind closed doors, but are denied access. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Diplomats from different countries wait outside the Dandong City Intermediate Court to enter the courtroom on March 19 after Canadian businessman Spavor was charged with “espionage” by the Chinese Communist Party. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Ni Jemin, deputy ambassador of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, waits outside the entrance to the courtroom as the Chinese Communist Party holds a closed-door trial of Canadian businessman Spavor at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavor, who has been charged with “espionage” by the Chinese Communist Party, was tried behind closed doors at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19, where Chinese police officers stood guard outside the courtroom, preventing diplomats and others from entering. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavo was charged with “espionage” by the Chinese Communist Party and was tried behind closed doors at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavor, who has been charged with “espionage” by the Chinese Communist Party, is escorted to court in a Communist police car during a closed-door hearing at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Some journalists take pictures of Canadian businessman Spavor, who has been charged with “espionage” by the Chinese Communist Party, as he is escorted in a police car outside the Dandong Intermediate Court during a closed-door trial on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Chinese Communist Party arrested Canadian businessman Michael Spavor in 2018 on charges of “espionage” in retaliation for his arrest. A police car takes him to the Dandong Intermediate Court for a closed-door trial on March 19 in Dandong, northeast China’s Liaoning province. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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The Chinese Communist Party arrested Canadian businessman Michael Spavor in retaliation for accusing him of “espionage” in 2018. Police cars take him to the Dandong Intermediate Court for a closed-door trial in Dandong, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavor, who has been accused by the Chinese Communist Party of “espionage,” is taken by police car to the Dandong Intermediate Court for a closed-door trial on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavor, who has been charged with “espionage” by the Chinese Communist Party, was brought to a closed-door hearing at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19, where Chinese police officers were heavily guarded outside the courtroom, preventing diplomats and others from entering. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavo was charged with “espionage” by the Chinese Communist Party and was tried behind closed doors at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavor was charged with “espionage” by the Communist Party of China and was tried behind closed doors at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Canadian businessman Spavor was charged with “espionage” by the Communist Party of China and was tried behind closed doors at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Chinese Communist Party police stand guard on the street outside the courtroom to control pedestrians before the official start of the closed-door trial of Canadian businessman Spavor at the Dandong Intermediate Court on March 19. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Note: Michael Spavor, a Canadian businessman, and Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, were both arrested in Dandong and Beijing on the same day in 2018, nine days after huawei Treasurer Meng Wanzhou was arrested by Canadian police. In June last year, they were charged with espionage by the Chinese Communist Party.
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