Garratt was detained along with his wife, Julia, back in August 2014 on charges of working with Canadian espionage agencies to spy and steal state secrets at the China-North Korea border.
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Kevin Garratt has been indicted by prosecutors in Dandong city in northeast China’s Liaoning province, Xinhua said. A court said the cases against Mr. Su was strong enough to warrant his extradition to the USA; he has appealed.
Garratt’s wife, Julia, was also arrested in August 2014 but was later released on bail.
Dandong is a transit point for North Korean refugees and the pair were reported to have been active in helping send humanitarian aid to the impoverished state, which is deeply suspicious of Christian activities.
A request for comment from Global Affairs Canada was not immediately returned. He was accused of stealing state secrets and spying.
The Canadian government said it was concerned and monitoring developments. He said former prime minister Stephen Harper raised the Garratt case with Chinese officials and urged the Liberal government to keep up the pressure.
“We’re China based, North-Korea focused, but we’re Jesus centered”, Kevin Garratt said in the November 2013 sermon at the Terra Nova Church in Surrey, British Columbia. “It’s a waiting game to be honest”, Simeon said in an interview.
China subsequently denied that its military was involved, and Mr. Garratt was indicted six days after the Globe report on charges of spying and stealing state secrets, according to a brief announcement made by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. The arrest happened less than a week after Canada accused Chinese hackers of breaking into a key computer network.
Garratt’s indictment was announced the day after Canadian Prime Minister attended a banquet in Ottawa hosted by Chinese Cabinet ministers to mark 45 years of formal ties between the two countries.
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In Beijing, meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry also batted away concerns from the Garratts’ extended family that the couple were detained due to their Christian faith. China’s Foreign Ministry had expressed strong displeasure over the allegation, urging Canada to withdraw the “groundless” accusation.
