Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor stand trial on espionage charges widely seen as retaliation for Huawei executive’s arrest

For more than 830 days, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been detained in Chinese jail cells, facing espionage charges that legal experts and diplomats have denounced as baseless.

But as the two men finally face trial, their supporters recognize that the two Canadians – caught in the centre of a diplomatic feud between the United States and China – face a narrowing path to freedom.

Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Spavor, a businessman, were arrested in December 2018 in a detention widely viewed as retaliation for the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, earlier that month.

In the years since, the two men have endured hours of interrogation and isolation, with rare visits by consular officials. China alleged that the two posed a threat to national security, but has revealed few details of the charges against them. In turn, Canada has accused Beijing of “hostage diplomacy”.

Now, the two cases are finally coming to trial. Spavor will face a court in the northern city of Dandong on Friday. Kovrig will be tried on Monday in Beijing. Canadian officials will not be granted access to the courts.