Behind the Iron Bars: A Former Diplomat’s Harrowing 1,000-Day Ordeal in a Chinese Communist Party Prison

[The Epoch Times, Medi 24, 2024](Reported by English Epoch Times reporter Andrew Chen / Compiled by Chen Ting) Three years after his release from China, Michael Kovrig gave his first public interview, describing the torture he endured while imprisoned by the Party Communist China.

In an interview with CBS, the former Canadian diplomat told how he was forcibly taken from his wife, who was six months pregnant. He was then blindfolded, taken to a cell and subjected to a variety of physical and mental torture.

“This is definitely the hardest and most painful thing I’ve ever experienced.” Kovrig said he was placed in solitary confinement, completely isolated, and required to undergo 6 to 9 hours of merciless interrogation every day.

Although UN guidelines state that solitary confinement should not exceed 15 consecutive days, Kovrig noted that he was kept in a windowless cell for almost six months.

“I overestimated the rationality of the Chinese Communist Party and underestimated their brutality,” he said.

Kovrig was detained in December 2018, widely believed to be an act of retaliation by Chinese authorities after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Canada arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of US authorities. The United States accuses Meng Wanzhou of concealing business transactions between Skycom’s Hong Kong subsidiary and Iran and of violating US sanctions, and hopes to extradite Meng Wanzhou.

Meng Wanzhou has been under house arrest in a multi-million dollar mansion in Vancouver for almost three years, but Kovrig’s detention conditions are much stricter. Much of this is hidden due to limited access by Canadian consular officials and lawyers.

detention and imprisonment

Kovrig remembered the night he was detained. He said he and his wife had lunch in the Sanlitun SOHO area of ​​Beijing around 10 pm when he was arrested.

When they walk near the apartment where they live, a dozen “men in black” suddenly surround them. They seized Kovrig’s mobile phone, held his arms down, and forcibly separated him from his wife. He was then handcuffed, pushed into a black SUV and blindfolded.

“Before they pushed me into the car, I looked back at my wife and we looked at each other.” Kovrig recalled that he tried to tell her to stay safe, “I don’t know when I’ll see her again.”

Kovrig said he was taken to a facility in southern Beijing, a journey estimated to take about 45 minutes. He counted the seconds, trying to estimate the distance. Having reached his destination, he heard the crunch of wheels on the gravel, the barking of dogs, and the door clanking open and he was taken into a building.

Once inside, Kovrig found himself facing a man wearing thick glasses, with bright lights shining on Kovrig’s face. The man told him that he was suspected of endangering China’s national security and that he “must be questioned.”

“At that moment, I had a chill running down my spine and I felt quite uncomfortable,” said Kovrig.

He was later taken to a cell with no windows and padded walls. There he was in solitary confinement for nearly six months and was subject to lengthy interrogations. He said he experienced “a lot of physical stress”, such as being chained to a chair for hours on end, and lost around 10 kilograms in the first month because he was given very little food.

“I’m hungry all the time,” said Kovrig.

“From Hell to Pork”

After some time, Kovrig was moved to a larger cell and shared with more than a dozen Chinese prisoners. He described the transition as “from hell to limbo.” The new cells have high ceilings and daylight filters in through acrylic windows. He spent the next two years here.

Kovrig said he found solace in books, including a Chinese dictionary, which led to a change of heart.

“I’m not a hostage, I’m not a criminal, or anything else the Chinese Communist Party has falsely accused me of. I’m a monk in a cell. I’m a student learning about the world, a student studying philosophy, a student studying Chinese,” he said. .

He said he would write letters to his family, long letters to his daughter whom he had never met, to express his love for his family and to commemorate his daughter’s first birthday. He avoided scrutiny from guards and expressed his feelings carefully.

Kovrig said: “Letters written to loved ones are like light shining through the cracks of darkness.”

Canadian businessman Michael Spavor

Shortly after Meng Wanzhou was arrested, another Canadian citizen, Michael Spavor, was also detained in China. Kovrig said he did not know Spavor was also being held in custody until he was questioned by Chinese authorities.

Kovrig said that the Chinese Communist authorities once forced him to name the “most useful and informative foreigner” to China that he had come in contact with.

Kovrig said he believed Spavor was a tour guide who ran a travel agency specializing in North Korean tours. He pointed out that Spavor did not speak Chinese and could not provide expert insights on China affairs.

Kovrig said the questioning of the interrogators was “absolutely baseless” and they gave up quickly because they understood there were no substantive issues to pursue.

Spavor later stood trial in China on March 19, 2021. This was a closed-door trial where Canadian consular officials could not be present. He faced charges of espionage and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, a move condemned by Ottawa.

Spavor and Kovrig were both released in September 2021 on the same day as Meng Wanzhou.

Spavor later claimed he was detained by Chinese authorities because he inadvertently shared sensitive information with Kovrig, which was later provided to Ottawa and Canada’s foreign allies. He subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government and settled for $7 million in March 2024.

In response to Spavor’s accusations, Global Affairs Canada said at the time that any allegation that the two Canadians were involved in “espionage activities” would only strengthen the Chinese Communist Party’s false accusations regarding their arrest.

Kovrig expressed disappointment when asked about Spavor’s claim, which has reignited concerns that he is a spy.

“It really hurts. It hurts for many reasons. First of all, it’s not true. I’ve never been a spy,” Kovrig said. “To be honest, I’m disappointed that so many are so quick. People are ready to believe a statement that has no basis.”

“They want to take hostages”

Reflecting on his own experience, Kovrig said the Canadian government should be “better prepared and develop a strategy” should it take actions that could anger the CCP and potentially lead to the detention of Canadian citizens.

He pointed out that the Chinese authorities are prepared to use hostage diplomacy regardless of the potential target.

“(The Chinese Communist Party) wants hostages, they want to capture someone, and if I’m not there, it will be someone else,” Kovrig said.

“Actually, one of the small consolations I take from this is that by going through this ordeal myself, I saved others from suffering,” Kovrig said.

original”‘I Underestimated Their Unfettered’: Michael Kovrig Recounts Suffering Under CCP Captivity“Published inEnglishThe Epoch Times.

Editor in charge: Li Lin#