Tourists walk on the Chinese side of the Broken Bridge, which once connected China and North Korea, at the Chinese border city of Dandong. (Photo : Getty Images)
A Canadian citizen who has been accused of espionage and detained in China for two years has been freed and has returned to Canada, the Washington Post reported.
On Thursday, Sept. 15, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed appreciation that Kevin Garratt has returned and reunited with his family in Canada. Garratt's return came a week after Trudeau visited China in an effort to improve relations.
Garrett managed a popular coffee shop and conducted Christian aid work for North Koreans in Dandong, a city on the North Korean border. After he was indicted by prosecutors in Dandong, the state security bureau arrested Garratt and his wife in Aug. 2014. His wife was later released after posting bail.
A Xinhua News Agency report said that authorities have found evidence implicating Garratt, whom they claimed is helping Canadian espionage agencies gather intelligence in China.
The case has been made a priority of the Canadian government, Trudeau said. The release also came a week before the scheduled visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Canada.
According to Simeon Garratt, the couple's son, there must have been a mistake as his parents ran a coffee shop and work for a Christian group North Star Aid, a charity organization registered in British-Columbia that provides humanitarian aid to North Koreans. Garratt's son said his parents did not conceal their faith nor made a public display of their religion as preaching is prohibited by law. He added that his parents only help bring school supplies, food and cooking oil into North Korea.
The coffee shop owned by the couple, Peter's Coffee House, which is located near the Friendship Bridge that links China to North Korea, is popular to tourists and students for its North American cuisine.
The couple were charged a week after Canada claimed that a China-sponsored hacker had infiltrated Canada's National Research Council, the country's top research and development organization.
The Chinese foreign ministry, however, denied the allegations and asked Canada to withdraw its accusation, which China said was baseless.
