Canadian in China charged with stealing secrets

The Canadian government said on Thursday it was concerned and monitoring developments closely after China indicated a Canadian citizen detained since 2014 on charges of spying and stealing state secrets.

Garratt was indicted in Dandong city in northeast China where he and his wife had been running a cafe business since 2008.

Chinese authorities allegedly found evidence that Garratt was accepting requests from Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China.

Simeon said that the two are openly Christian and were part of a mission that sends food aid to North Korea.

The Chinese government has denied claims it has charged a Canadian man with spying as an act of retribution against the arrest and extradition proceedings against a Chinese man wanted by the USA for stealing fighter jet documents.

“Canada finds the indictment of Kevin Garratt by China concerning”, spokesperson François Lasalle said in an email.

Garratt was indicted in Dandong in China’s Liaoning Province and the case will be tried in the Dandong Intermediate People’s Court, Xinhua reported. Julia Garratt was released in February but barred from leaving.

A Canadian arrested in China two years ago on suspicion of stealing state secrets has been charged.

Kevin Garratt and his wife have lived in China since the 1980s, where they developed ties to the local Christian community. Simeon Garratt has said his parents made no secret of their faith but did not flaunt it in China, where proselytizing is against the law. He described running a house outside Dandong where North Koreans could “hang out”.

Moreover, the long stay of Kevin at Dandong jail resulted to a diplomatic event between Beijing and Ottawa. “It probably would be embarrassing to the foreign minister of China, because it’s a time when they’re improving relations, and it’s going to be set back”, Tiberghien said.

According to The Star News, the Global Affairs Spokesperson Francois Lasalle stated that “The Government of Canada has raised this case with the Chinese Government at high levels…”

Kevin and Julia Dawn Garratt, shown here flanked by their son Peter and daughter Hannah, were detained in August 2014 near the border with North Korea.