Canadian detained by China says he experienced psychological torture
Adds reaction from Chinese embassy paragraphs 11-12
OTTAWA, Sept 23 (Reuters) -A Canadian man detained by China for more than 1,000 days said he was put into solitary confinement for months and interrogated for up to nine hours every day, treatment he said amounted to psychological torture.
Michael Kovrig, speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp in an interview released on Monday, also said he had missed the birth of his daughter and only met her for the first time when she was two-and-a half years old.
Kovrig and fellow Canadian Michael Spavor were taken into custody in December 2018 shortly after Canadian police detained Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei, on a U.S. warrant. Both men were accused of spying.
"I still carry a lot of pain around with me and that can be heavy at times," Kovrig said in his first substantial comments since he and Spavor were released in September 2021.
Kovrig noted that U.N. guidelines say prisoners should not be put into solitary confinement for more than 15 days in a row.
"More than that is considered psychological torture. I was there for nearly six months," said Kovrig, a former diplomat who had been working as an adviser with a think-tank when arrested.
Kovrig said there was no daylight in the solitary cell, where the fluorescent lights were kept on 24 hours a day. At one point, his food ration was cut to three bowls of rice a day.
"It was psychologically absolutely, the most grueling, painful thing I've ever been through," he said.
"It's a combination of solitary confinement, total isolation, and relentless interrogation for six to nine hours every day," he said. "They are trying to bully and torment and terrorize and coerce you ... into accepting their false version of reality."
Kovrig and Spavor were released on the same day the U.S. Justice Department dropped its extradition request for Meng and she returned to China.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa, responding to Kovrig's interview, said he and Spavor had been suspected of engaging in activities endangering China's national security.
Chinese judicial authorities handled the cases in strict accordance with the law, it said in a statement.
Bilateral ties are chilly. China this month opened a one-year anti-dumping investigation into imports of rapeseed from Canada, just weeks after Ottawa announced 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Kovrig's partner was six months pregnant at the time of his arrest. She played their daughter recordings of his voice and showed pictures of her father so she would recognize him when they finally met.
"I'll never forget that sense of wonder, of everything being new and wonderful again and pushing my daughter on a swing that had her saying to her mother 'Mummy, I'm so happy'," he said.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa was not immediately available for comment.
Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Stephen Coates
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
