Canadian citizen Michael Spavor, who was sentenced in August to 11 years in prison for spying and illegally disclosing Chinese state secrets to foreign institutions, has repeatedly taken pictures and videos of Chinese military equipment and have illegally shared some of these photos to people outside China, a source said to be trusted on the matter Global Times.

Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor (r.)

A court in Dandong in north-east China’s Liaoning province announced on August 11 that Spavor had been found guilty of spying on Chinese state secrets and ordered his expulsion. In addition, Spawar’s personal assets worth 50,000 yuan were confiscated.

According to the source, Spavor took pictures and videos of Chinese military equipment several times while in China and illegally shared some of them with people outside China.

The photos and videos were therefore classified as second category state secrets. Spavor was the main informant of another Canadian defendant, Michael Kovrig, and he provided her information for a long time.

On March 22, a trial for spying on former Canadian diplomat Kovrig began in a Beijing court. The judgment is to be pronounced at a specified time as per law.

According to the source, Kovrig traveled to China between 2017 and 2018 under the guise of a businessman who allegedly wanted to do business. In Beijing, Shanghai, Jilin and other places, he collected a large amount of unpublished information about China’s national security through his staff and wrote analytical reports on it. The information Kovrig collected included state secrets and second-level intelligence.

According to the source, Kovrig and Spavor have been in good health since their stay in prison. Prisons pay close attention to their health and conduct regular check-ups.

Concerned officials gave them letters and books and organized consular visits by Canadian Embassy officials in accordance with laws and regulations, including virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Your legitimate rights, including the right to correspondence and consular visits, are guaranteed. Competent authorities take care of their dietary and exercise needs for humanitarian reasons and on legal grounds. Both call their family members abroad.”

China’s foreign ministry and its embassies have criticized Canada for cooperating itself with other countries in the Spavor and Schellenberg affairs, and urging these countries to respect the rule of law in China and refrain from politicizing legal proceedings. has urged.