This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
Canada: 
Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
China’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the Vancouver woman, Julia Garratt, detained with her husband on suspicion of stealing state secrets have now been released on bail. According to the Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, Garratt was released on Thursday but the case is still under investigation. Garratt was detained with her husband, Kevin, on Aug. 4 by the state’s security bureau in China’s northeastern city of Dandong, which borders North Korea.
Hong reasserted that the couple faces charges including stealing secrets and spying, while revealing that Kevin Garratt has been moved from residential surveillance to the more serious status of criminal detention. Hong alleged that “Kevin Garratt and Julia Garratt are under suspicion of undermining China’s state security,” adding that “competent Chinese authorities will handle the case and ensure the legal rights of the two persons according to law.” The Vancouver couple have lived in China since 1984 and opened a popular coffee shop in Dandong in 2008.
Quite noticeably, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had discussed the plight of the Canadian couple during a visit to China last November. The couple’s son, Simeon, confirmed that had thought at the time that the Canadian government wasn’t putting enough pressure on the Chinese counterparts to release his parents. The Garratts were out for dinner with friends when they were detained, with their four grown children simply told their parents were being held in an undisclosed location.
Be the first to comment