Colleagues of Canadian Michael Kovrig have rejected China's decision to charge him with espionage, calling the move "groundless, indefensible, and sadly unsurprising".
International Crisis Group's president, Robert Malley, told SBS News that China had retaliated against the former diplomat, describing the situation as a "political case masquerading as a legal one".
"I think it is very hard for anyone to look at the case and not conclude that's the truth because Michael had been going to China for many years beforehand without a problem."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "very disappointed" and would keep pressing China to release the duo. Source: AAP
"[This] has been part of the tug of war that China has had with Canada and the United States, so the charges today don't change much about the case," he said.
Mr Kovrig, and fellow Canadian Michael Spavor were charged with spying on Friday, more than 18 months after they were arrested in a spat between China and Canada.
The pair were initially detained shortly after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a US warrant.
The Supreme People's Procuratorate said Friday it has begun the prosecution of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, both of whom are "suspected of foreign espionage" and "providing state secrets".
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at a parole office with a security guard in Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: AAP
"The facts of the crime are clear and the evidence is true and sufficient," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.
The move comes just weeks after a key ruling in Ms Meng's case where a Canadian judge ruled that proceedings to extradite her to the United States will go ahead.
'Extremely disappointing'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "disappointed" the pair had been charged, saying the timing of the event could not be ignored.
"The Chinese authorities have directly linked the case of the two Michaels to the judicial proceedings against Ms Meng, which is extremely disappointing because, for us, there obviously are no links in politics on that," he said.
Canada's former ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques, urged the Canadian government to take a more aggressive stance.
"We need a strong reaction from the federal government, not just soft diplomatic talk anymore," he told public broadcaster CBC.
Michael Kovrig speaks during an interview in Hong Kong on 28 March 2018. Source: AAP
The United States wants Ms Meng extradited to face trial on charges related to the Chinese telecom equipment maker's alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran.
Diplomatic relations between Canada and China have hit rock bottom over the arrests, damaging trade between the countries.
China's Embassy in Ottawa accused the United States of trying "to bring down Huawei".
China has also blocked billions of dollars worth of Canadian agricultural exports.
The arrests of Mr Kovrig and Mr Spavor, nine days after Ms Meng was taken into custody, have been widely decried as retribution.
While the eldest daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has been out on bail and living in a mansion in Vancouver, the two Canadians remain in China's opaque penal system.
Monthly consular visits for Mr Kovrig and Mr Spavor had been suspended since the coronavirus outbreak started in China, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in April, amid concerns over their wellbeing.
China's foreign ministry has insisted the pair are in good health, and that their detention facility was "in a region that is not particularly affected by COVID-19".
However, people familiar with the matter have told AFP the two have endured hours of interrogation and in the first six months of detention were forced to sleep with the lights on.
Michael Spavor talks during a Skype interview in Yanji, China on 2 March 2017. Source: AAP
'Arbitrarily detained'
Mr Trudeau has insisted on leaving it to the courts to decide Ms Meng's fate.
He lamented in May that China "doesn't seem to understand" the meaning of an independent judiciary.
Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, said after the May ruling over Ms Meng that Canada would "continue to pursue principled engagement with China to address our bilateral differences".
Minister Champagne also said Ottawa would continue to press for the release of Mr Kovrig and Mr Spavor, "who have been arbitrarily detained for over 500 days" and for clemency for a third Canadian, Robert Schellenberg, facing execution.
Ms Meng's case now continues to a second phase, yet to be scheduled, when the defence will challenge the lawfulness of her arrest, followed by more hearings likely in September.
Any appeals could further drag it out for years.
Additional reporting: AFP
