BEIJING — A Canadian man who ran a cafe near China’s border with North Korea will be tried on charges of spying and stealing state secrets, prosecutors announced on Friday, nearly a year and a half after he and his wife were detained by the police.
The man, Kevin Garratt, will be tried in Dandong, a city in Liaoning Province, Xinhua, the official news agency, said on Thursday. It gave no date for the trial.
“During the investigation, Chinese authorities also found evidence that implicates Garratt in accepting tasks from Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China,” said Xinhua, citing prosecutors in Dandong.
The case adds another potential strain between Beijing and Western governments, which have expressed concern about the treatment of foreigners in China’s legal system.
A Swedish man, Peter Jesper Dahlin, was expelled from China this week after he had been detained on charges of violating national security laws by supporting human rights advocates who challenged the authorities.
Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government has amplified warnings that the country is vulnerable to espionage and other security threats, and last year the state-run media reported the arrests of Chinese citizens and at least three Japanese nationals accused of spying. The government introduced a new counterespionage law in 2014 that laid out demands for vigilance against foreign intelligence gathering.
Mr. Garratt and his wife, Julia Dawn Garratt, ran Peter’s Coffee House in Dandong, near the Yalu River, a dividing line between China and North Korea. The couple, from Vancouver, British Columbia, also worked with North Star Aid, a charity that delivered food and supplies to North Koreans. The coffee shop became a hub for the city’s expatriate English teachers and other foreigners.
The Garratts were detained in August 2014. Their son Simeon Garratt has called the spying allegations “absurd.” Ms. Garratt was released on bail in February when her husband was formally detained on the charge of stealing state secrets, but she was ordered to remain in China for one year.
A spokesman for the Canadian Global Affairs department, John Babcock, said by email that “Canada finds the indictment of Kevin Garratt by China concerning.”
“The government of Canada has raised this case with the Chinese government at high levels,” Mr. Babcock said.
James Zimmerman, a lawyer in Beijing who has represented the couple, had no immediate comment and said he may issue a statement later. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/world/asia/china-to-try-canadian-on-spying-charges.html
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