The lawyer for Michael Spavor, one of two Canadians detained and incarcerated by China for nearly three years, says the legal fight between his client and the federal government is now “resolved.“
Lawyer John K. Phillips did not go into further detail in a statement to Global News, but it comes just four months after the Globe and Mail reported federal lawyers were in compensation talks with Spavor and Michael Kovrig for their imprisonment in China.
The Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday, citing a source not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, a multimillion-dollar settlement had been reached with Spavor worth about $6 million.
Global News has not independently confirmed a settlement has been reached or any potential valuation.
Asked about the report of a deal, Global Affairs Canada did not confirm a settlement, only stating the detentions of the two Michaels was “unjust and unacceptable.”
A spokesperson said due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.
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Earlier in November 2023, Kovrig told Global News he denied allegations he conducted covert intelligence work that led to his and Spavor’s arrest.
His comments came after reporting in The Globe that Spavor blamed Ottawa and Kovrig for his detention and was seeking a multimillion-dollar settlement from Ottawa. Spavor alleged he was detained because he unwittingly provided intelligence on North Korea to Kovrig.
Kovrig told Global News when he first saw the report he was shocked and confused.
Global Affairs Canada responded to that Globe report, saying that “perpetuating the notion that either Michael was involved in espionage is only perpetuating a false narrative under which they were detained by China.”
At the time, Spavor and his lawyers did not comment on the allegations made in the report.
Spavor and Kovrig made international headlines in 2018 after both men were detained by Beijing facing widely condemned charges of espionage.
The federal government insisted throughout their entire detainment that the two men had been arbitrarily detained following the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the U.S.
Two years after their detainment, the Chinese government formally laid charges. Kovrig was charged with spying on state secrets and intelligence for other countries abroad, while Spavor faced charges of spying on national secrets and providing those secrets outside China. Spavor was convicted by a Chinese court in August 2021 and sentenced to 11 years. That same month, Kovrig’s trial ended without a verdict.
One month later, Meng’s extradition case was dropped, allowing her to return to China on Sept. 24, 2021. Hours later, the two Michaels were freed.
—with files from Global News’ Jeff Semple and Reuters
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