Canadian sentenced to 11 years in prison

A court in Northeast China's Liaoning province sentenced Canadian citizen Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison on Wednesday for the crimes of spying and illegally providing State secrets to overseas entities.

The Dandong Intermediate People's Court said in a statement posted on its website that it also seized 50,000 yuan ($7,714) of personal property and issued a deportation notice.

No more details were released by the court.

In general, under the Chinese law, foreigners convicted of committing a crime are deported after their sentences are complete.

In December 2018, Spavor was detained by the Chinese government "on suspicion of engaging in activities that endangered national security".

In June 2020, he was charged by prosecutors in Liaoning.