2 Canadians Imprisoned by China Released, PM Trudeau Says

Two Canadians detained by China for nearly three years are released, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday night.

Reports revealed that Trudeau said Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor boarded a plane headed for Canada at about 7:30 p.m. ET Friday night and would land in Canada sometime Saturday.

"These two men have gone through an unbelievably difficult ordeal for the past 1,000 days, they have shown strength, perseverance and grace and we are all inspired by that," said Trudeau at a late evening news conference in Ottawa.

The prime minister would not discuss details about how their release came about but he thanked Canadian allies for their support.

Notably, former diplomat Kovrig and businessman Spavor had been held in China since late 2018.

They were arrested on espionage charges in China shortly after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant related to the company's business dealings in Iran. However, China has consistently denied that the cases were in any way connected.