China Formally Arrests Canadian Ex-diplomat, Businessman: Report

Umer Jamshaid Published May 16, 2019 | 10:40 AM

Beijing, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th May, 2019 ) :China has formally arrested two Canadians who have been detained for months on national security grounds, Canada's The Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Thursday, in a case that has inflamed tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.

A Canadian government source told the daily that neither Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, nor Michael Spavor, a China-based businessman who organised trips to North Korea, have been formally charged.

"Canada strongly condemns their arbitrary arrest as we condemned their arbitrary detention on Dec. 10," the Canadian foreign ministry said in a statement to the newspaper.