Canadian Christian coffee shop owner accused of spying by Chinese government
A Canadian missionary who works at a coffee shop in China was recently accused of espionage after being detained for 18 months.
Kevin Garratt, a Christian worker who has been living in China for 30 years has been accused by Chinese authorities for working as a spy for Canada in order to collect state secrets and other intelligence data.
"During the investigation, Chinese authorities also found evidence that implicates Garratt in accepting tasks from Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China," reported Xinhua and according to prosecutors in Dandong.
Garatt has been living with his wife in Dandong, in the province of Liaoning, close to the Chinese and North Korean border.
While working in the coffee shop they own, the couple has also been working with North Star Aid, a non-government, Christian organization.
Garratt and his wife Julia, were involved with the group in providing food and medicine to those in need, especially in North Korea.
In spite of the couple's humanitarian efforts toward the people, they were arrested by authorities in August 2014. While Julia was permitted to be released in February 2015 on bail, she was barred from leaving the country.
There are no exact details about Garratt's trial, and his China-based defense attorney, James Zimmerman did not have any immediate comments about the case.
The indictment of Garratt came just a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a meeting in Ottawa that was hosted by Chinese officials to celebrate the 45th year of formal ties between the two nations.
Kevin and Julia Garratt's children were dismayed by the accusation, claiming that it is 'absurd.'
