Japan expresses ‘concern’ over Canadian’s prison sentence in China

Tokyo, Aug 12 (EFE).- Japan’s foreign minister on Thursday expressed “concern” about the sentencing of a Canadian citizen in China.

Toshimitsu Motegi and his Canadian counterpart, Marc Garneau, spoke on telephone on Thursday and addressed the case of Michael Spavor.

For spying and illegal provision of state secrets abroad, a Chinese court on Wednesday sentenced the businessman to 11 years in prison, the confiscation of 50,000 yuan ($7,719) worth of personal property and deportation.

“I will follow the development of the case with great concern,” Motegi told Garneau during their conversation, according to the Japanese foreign ministry, which did not provide any more details.

Spavor’s sentence came amid the extradition trial of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the Chinese tech giant Huawei, in Vancouver, Canada.

A court of Dandong in northeast China’s Liaoning province on Wednesday announced the sentence against Spavor, who is being held in a detention center in the city on the same day that he completed 975 days in custody. EFE

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