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Michael Kovrig, Michael Spavor return to Canada after detention in China

First Published:

Two Canadians who spent almost three years detained in Chinese prisons returned to Canada Saturday morning.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor arrived at Calgary International Airport around 8 a.m. EDT.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Global Affairs Minister Marc Garneau welcomed the two Michaels before they reunited with loved ones.

Spavor remained in Calgary with family, while Kovrig boarded a plane destined for Toronto. Kovrig arrived just before 1 p.m. at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Kovrig and Spavor departed for Canada late Friday night shortly after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou flew to China after solving her legal conflict with the U-S.

The case came to an end Friday once Meng pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges involving American sanctions against Iran.

Meng then walked out of a British Columbia Supreme Court after a judge agreed to a discharge order that withdrew a U-S extradition request that led to her 2018 arrest in Vancouver.

The two Michaels were arrested in China on espionage charges days later in 2018 but China has always denied accusations it was retaliating for Meng’s arrest.

Kovrig and Spavor endured harsh conditions in Chinese prisons where they could barely access the outside world. Meng, however, was kept under house arrest at her Vancouver mansion.

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