NATO Chief Says Following Case of Detained Canadians in China ‘With Concern’

NATO’s chief is calling on China to treat two Canadians detained in the country “fairly and with due process.”
NATO Chief Says Following Case of Detained Canadians in China ‘With Concern’
Nato's General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg speaks to the media at the Cotroceni palace, the Romanian Presidency headquarters in Bucharest, on Jan. 31, 2019. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images)
The Associated Press
1/31/2019
Updated:
1/31/2019

BUCHAREST, Romania—NATO’s chief is calling on China to treat two Canadians detained in the country “fairly and with due process.”

In his first public comments about the case, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Jan. 31 that he was following their case “with concern.”

He called on Beijing to address the concerns of the Canadian government, which wants the pair to be “immediately released.”

Diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor have been detained in China since December for allegedly endangering national security.

Their detention came shortly after Canadian authorities in Vancouver arrested Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive with Chinese firm Huawei Technologies, who is wanted by the U.S. on fraud charges.

Another Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, received a death sentence for a previous drug-smuggling conviction, a harsher penalty than the 15 years of imprisonment he'd already been given.