China begins prosecution of Canadians Michael Kovrig, Michael Spavor

Two Canadians arrested in China, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, have been formally prosecuted respectively by the procuratorates in Beijing and Dandong, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

According to two separate notices published on the Supreme People's Procuratorate website on Friday, Kovrig was "suspected of spying on state secrets and intelligence" while Spavor was "suspected of spying state secrets and illegally providing them to overseas forces."

Former Canadian diplomat Kovrig and Canadian businessman Spavor were detained in China in late 2018 and were arrested in May last year.