It lasted about 3 hours, in a judicial system that lacks independence, has no transparency, and is completely subservient to the Chinese Communist Party.
The show trial for Michael Kovrig is over.
It lasted just about three hours, compared to the two hours Michael Spavor’s ‘trial’ lasted.
Chinese state-controlled media says a verdict in Kovrig’s trial will be announced at a later time, similar to what they said following Spavor’s trial.
In a show of support, diplomats from 28 countries stood together with Canadian officials outside the courthouse.
Canadian officials spoke about how they were denied access to the proceedings:
“Michael Kovrig has been detained for more than two years now. He’s been arbitrarily detained and now we see that the court process itself is not transparent. We’re very troubled by this but we thank those who have come out from the embassies here in Beijing and the international support that we’ve had for Michael, for Canada and the call that many of us are making for their immediate release.”
Since kidnapping the two Michael’s and using ‘hostage diplomacy’ tactics, Canadian public opinion of China has collapsed, with China now viewed more negatively than at any point in Canadian history.
Spencer Fernando
