Hong Kong (CNN) -
A Chinese court sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage, more than two years after he was arrested.
Spavor, a Beijing-based businessman who regularly traveled to North Korea, was sentenced after being convicted of spying on and illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries, the Dandong Intermediate People's Court said in a statement on Wednesday.
The court said Spavor would also be deported, without specifying whether before or after he served his prison sentence.
Spavor was arrested in December 2018 along with Canadian Michael Kovrig on espionage charges.
The two men were detained following the Vancouver arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei, on charges that the company violated US sanctions against Iran.
Meng, whose extradition hearing is now in its final stages, has been under house arrest in Vancouver since 2018.
Two Canadians Arrested in China Officially Charged with Espionage (2020)
Chinese officials have not released any evidence against Spavor or Kovrig, or information related to their trials, which were held behind closed doors in March.
advertising
Speaking from Dandong on Wednesday, Canada's Ambassador to China Dominic Barton said his government condemned "in the strongest terms" the sentence handed down against Spavor.
Barton said he had spoken with Spavor after the verdict was rendered, and the Canadian had asked him to deliver three messages.
"One, thank you for all your support, it means a lot to me. Two, I'm in a good mood. And three, I want to go home," Barton said, relaying Spavor's comments.
The ambassador said the legal process "lacked fairness and transparency" and linked Spavor's sentence to Meng's ongoing trial in Canada.
Speaking of Spavor's sentence, Barton said they had interpreted it as an 11-year prison term followed by deportation from China, but added that deportation could be "very important."
"Is there a possibility of taking him home earlier? We have been considering that in terms of the appeal, but that deportation phrase was noted," he said.
The relatives and contacts of the two Canadian men have described that they are being held in poor conditions and that they are denied contact with the outside world.
Almost all face-to-face consular visits to foreign prisoners in China have been stopped since last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and diplomats can only speak to detainees by phone.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced Spavor's sentence on Wednesday as "absolutely unacceptable and unjust", saying in a statement that Canada's top priority is to secure the release of the two men.
"Mr. Spavor's verdict comes after more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention, a lack of transparency in the legal process and a trial that did not meet even the minimum standards required by international law," Trudeau said.
"We will not rest until we bring them home safely."
Chinese authorities have not yet announced a date for the verdict or sentencing of the other detained Canadian, Michael Kovrig.
Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who worked for the International Crisis Group (ICG), is accused of "stealing confidential information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017."
Espionage has been around for as long as humans have existed, says GirlsCanHack founder
Chinese courts have a conviction rate of more than 99% and observers say that the release of Spavor and Kovrig could now hinge on a diplomatic solution, potentially after a face-saving conviction and a time sentence served.
Trudeau has repeatedly refused to consider any exchange of Spavor and Kovrig for Meng, whose arrest has seen relations between Ottawa and Beijing sink.
Earlier this year, Canada's Parliament passed a non-binding motion accusing China of committing genocide against its Muslim minorities in the western Xinjiang region, further straining ties between the two countries.
University of Toronto associate professor Lynette Ong said adding the deportation phrase to Spavor's sentence gave the Chinese government "bargaining power."
"From the Canadian perspective, it allows Canada to expect a more favorable outcome than 11 years," he said.
Both the administrations of former US President Donald Trump and now US President Joe Biden have pledged to do whatever they can to help the two Canadians, and Vice President Kamala Harris told Trudeau in a phone call in February that Washington was in " strong solidarity with Canada regarding the issue of two Canadian citizens unjustly detained by China. "
In a statement Wednesday, the US Embassy in China strongly condemned the verdict, describing it as a "blatant attempt" to use people as a "bargaining chip."
Two Canadians Arrested in China Amid Growing Diplomatic Dispute Following Arrest of Huawei Executive
Spavor's sentence comes just one day after Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg had his 2019 death sentence for drug trafficking upheld on appeal in a court in the northeastern province of Liaoning.
Schellenberg's initial 15-year jail term was changed to a death sentence at a retrial in December 2018 after prosecutors said it had uncovered new evidence.
Marc Garneau, Canada's foreign minister, said in a statement Tuesday that Canada "strongly" condemned the court's decision and that Schellenberg's ruling was "arbitrary."
CNN's Beijing office and James Griffiths contributed to this report.
Espionage