Wife of detained Canadian diplomat called for his release following a closed-door trial

After Michael Kovrig appeared in an espionage trial in China on Monday, his wife continued to call on Beijing, Ottawa, and Washington to work together and find a solution to end Kovrig’s detention.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig appeared in court for his trial on Monday, marking his first court appearance after being detained in China for more than two years. Diplomatic representatives from 26 countries tried to enter the court but were denied access. Jim Nickel, the charge d’affaires of the Canadian embassy in Beijing, said he was “troubled by the lack of access and lack of transparency in the legal process.”

The closed-door trial lasted one day and the court ultimately said in a statement that the process had been concluded and it would choose another date to announce the verdict in accordance with the law.

Vina Nadjibulla, Kovrig’s wife, said that she wasn’t surprised about Monday’s result, as she hasn’t been able to know much about the case over the last two years. “My focus today, as it has been for the last 833 days, is on Michael’s freedom and doing everything possible to find a resolution to his detention,” said Nadjibulla.

Nadjibulla admitted that the last two years have been “a difficult ordeal” for her, but compared to Kovrig’s situation in the Chinese prison, she thinks her experience is “nothing.” “Michaels’ situation is much harder and I draw a lot of strength and inspiration from him,” she said.

“I do exactly as he has asked, which is to relentlessly pursue his freedom and to advocate for a diplomatic solution involving the US, Canada and China that would bring this to an end and allow him to come home.”

China and Canada threw criticism at each other

Following Monday’s closed-door trial, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his criticism of Beijing’s detention of the two Canadians, describing them as “arbitrary and totally unacceptable.” “We continue, together, to push for their freedom, and we won’t give up until both are here at home.”

On the same day, China’s foreign ministry defended its decision to block foreign diplomats from attending the trial and described their actions as “very unreasonable.” “Be it a few or dozens of diplomats trying to gather and exert pressure, it is an interference in China’s judicial sovereignty … and not something that a diplomat should do,” said Chinese foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

On March 19, another Canadian citizen Michael Spavor, who is also charged with espionage, appeared in another closed-door trial in the northern Chinese city of Dandong. That trial lasted less than three hours and ended without a verdict being delivered. Canadian diplomats were also banned from attending the trial.

“I hope Michael can remain strong”

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought up the detention of the two Canadians during the summit with his Chinese counterparts in Alaska. Nadjibulla said she is grateful for the efforts and words of support shared by American officials and others, but she hopes the Canadian government can work with Washington and Beijing to find a resolution for Kovrig’s ongoing detention.

“We need to work on this urgently because it has been way too long,” Nadjibulla said. “The unjust detention must come to an end. The suffering that Michael and Michael Spavor are enduring must be brought to an end.”

Nadjibulla also talked about the letters that Kovrig sent from the prison, in which he described the books that he’s been reading and the exercises that he’s been doing. “ It’s essentially all of the efforts for him to stay mentally as strong as possible,” she said.

When asked about how she imagines Kovrig might feel about having to be sent back to prison following a lengthy, closed-door trial, Nadjibulla said she hopes Kovrig can remain strong and said he should know that she and the Canadian government are doing everything they can to find a solution.

“Michael is an incredibly resilient person and he has shown so much courage and strength,” she said. “I don’t know how he is doing for sure but I hope he continues to be strong.”

She said both Kovrig and Spavor were caught in a “bigger geopolitical dispute” and her focus has always been on the fact that Kovrig is innocent and he needs to be released. “My message to Beijing is that Michael is an innocent man and I sincerely hope that he will be released,” Nadjibulla said. “hope a path forward for resolving his situation and that of the extradition case can be found.”

China arrested Kovrig and Spavor in December 2018, a few days after Canada arrested Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou based on an extradition warrant from the US. Ottawa and Washington have viewed their arrests as retaliation from Beijing even though the Chinese government continues to deny that the two cases were related.

The piece was first published in Mandarin on DW’s Chinese website.