After being detained for over a thousand days in December 2018, Michael Kovrig claims he was subjected to “relentless interrogation” and kept in solitary confinement for months.
His claims have been refuted by the Chinese government, which claims that it handled his case legally.
After Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou was apprehended in Vancouver, Mr. Kovrig and fellow Canadian Michael Spavor were arrested on spying allegations in what Canada referred to as “hostage diplomacy”.
Ms. Meng, the chief financial officer of the Chinese tech company Huawei, was being detained by Canadian authorities at the time on suspicion of defrauding the United States of America.
“It was the most excruciating, agonizing experience I’ve ever had,” Mr. Kovrig stated during a Monday night interview with CBC, a Canadian public broadcaster.
For the first time, Mr. Kovrig described his trauma, saying that the evening he was taken, he was strolling home from dinner in Beijing with his partner, who at the time was six months pregnant.
