Two Canadians indicted and tried in case linked to Huawei executive, says China

(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

China’s Foreign Ministry has said two Canadians held for two years in a case linked to a Huawei executive have been indicted and tried, but gave no details.

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been confined since December 10 2018, days after Canada detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the founder of the Chinese communications equipment giant.

Beijing has said the two men are being held on suspicion of national security crimes but has released no specifics about their cases.

Meng Wanzhou is the daughter of the founder of Huawei (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press/AP)

At a daily briefing on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the two had been “arrested, indicted and tried”, in what appeared to be the first public mention that they had been taken to court.

China says their cases are not connected to Meng’s detention but has consistently linked them to its demands that she be immediately released.