Spavor, Kovrig face hearings March 19, 22: Garneau

The federal government says Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who have been in custody in China for more than two years, will have court hearings in the coming days.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau says the Canadian Embassy in Beijing was notified today that Spavor's court hearing will take place Friday and Kovrig's will happen Monday.

He says their detentions are "arbitrary" and that Canada continues to work "tirelessly" to secure their release.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, the arbitrary detention of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor is my top priority. Our Government continues to work tirelessly to secure their immediate release.

Today, I issued the following statement: pic.twitter.com/5aGIpoZPMV

— Marc Garneau (@MarcGarneau) March 17, 2021

The two Canadian men, known to many around the world simply as "the two Michaels," were detained in December 2018.

Their cases have been widely linked to Canada's decision to detain Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The controversy has been taken up by several of Canada's allies, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who recently pledged his support to help free the two men.