(Bloomberg) -- A Canadian tour organizer has appealed his spying conviction in China, according to a person familiar with the matter, in a case diplomatically entwined with U.S. efforts to extradite a top Huawei Technologies Co.
Michael Spavor filed the appeal Monday against the conviction and 11-year prison sentence, said the person, who asked not to identified as they were unauthorized to speak with media. In China, an appeal is essentially a retrial, the person said.
Spavor, who organized trips to North Korea, was jailed for stealing and illegally providing state secrets to other countries in mid-August. A court said in a statement he would be deported, without specifying whether that would happen before or after his sentence was completed.
After the verdict was announced by Dandong Intermediate People's Court in northeastern China, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned it as “absolutely unacceptable and unjust.”
China Leaves Room to Release Canadian After Spy Conviction
Spavor's detention and that of Michael Kovrig, a Hong Kong-based analyst at the International Crisis Group and former Canadian diplomat, has fueled criticism of China's use of “hostage diplomacy,” something Beijing denies.
Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou's fate is still undecided in Canada, with her hearing on extradition to the U.S. ending last week in Vancouver.
China's criminal law says an appeal has to be filed within 10 days, counting from the second day after the sentence is received. Cases are usually reviewed by a higher-level court, which in Spavor's case means it could be handled at Liaoning High People's Court.
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