A man walks past the coffee shop owned by Canadians Kevin and Julia Garrett in Dandong in Liaoning Province. Kevin Garrett was indicted by Dandong court of espionage while Julia was released on bail. (Photo : REUTERS)
Chinese authorities have indicted a Canadian citizen on charges of spying and stealing state secrets, according to a report on Thursday, Jan. 28.
The Global Times reported that Kevin Garratt was charged by prosecutors in Dandong, a city on the China-North Korea border, in Liaoning Province in northeast China. The report said that the case will be tried at the Dandong Intermediate People's Court at still unknown date.
Authorities also found during investigation evidence that would implicate Garratt, showing that he accepted tasks from Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China.
In Feb. 2015, the foreign ministry said that Kevin Garratt and his wife Julia were suspected of being involved in activities that undermine the country's national security, and were put under residential surveillance by the national security agency of Dandong, Liaoning Province, on Aug. 4, 2014.
Hong Lei, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, told Xinhua that Kevin Garratt was held in criminal detention on suspicion of stealing and prying into state secrets, while Julia Garratt was released from custody on bail on Feb. 3, 2015.
Previous media reports said that before the two were detained, they ran a coffee shop on the Chinese border with North Korea. The couple have been living in China since 1984, according to Canadian newspaper The Global and Mail.
In related news, a Swedish citizen suspected of funding activities threatening the national security had been expelled from China, the foreign ministry confirmed on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
The report said that Peter Dahlin was deported on Monday, Jan. 25, in accordance with the relevant law, as reported by the Global Times.
"I need to correct that he was not released but deported," Hua Chunying, a government spokesperson, said during a daily briefing on Tuesday. "In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law, Beijing State Security Bureau placed Peter under compulsory measures of residential surveillance at a designated residence. After inquiries, Peter owned up to the crime."
Hua added that China informed the Swedish government about the relevant circumstance and arranged for them to visit him.
Dahlin, a co-founder of the China Urgent Action Working Group and involved in legal affairs, was arrested on Jan. 3.
