Canadian detained by China describes months of psychological torture and solitary confinement

Michael Korvig, a former Canadian diplomat, was taken into custody in December 2018 and held for more than 1,000 days

A Canadian man arrested by Chinese authorities has said he was subjected to “psychological torture” during six months of intense interrogation and solitary confinement.

Michael Korvig, a former Canadian diplomat, was taken into custody in December 2018 and held for more than 1,000 days, during which he says he was interrogated for up to nine hours each day.

Along with another man, Michael Spavor, he was accused of spying, what authorities described as “engaging in activities endangering China’s national security.”

Both men were released in September 2021.

Their arrests were seen as retaliation, having come shortly after Canadian authorities detained Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, on a US warrant.

“I still carry a lot of pain around with me and that can be heavy at times,” Kovrig told Canadian broadcaster CBC, in his first substantial interview since his release, which aired on Monday. “More than that is considered psychological torture.”

Korvig was accused of spying and detained in December 2018 (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

UN guidelines state that prisoners should not be put into solitary confinement for more than 15 days in a row. Kovrig says he was there for nearly six months.

He told CBC there was no daylight in the solitary cell and fluorescent lights were kept on 24 hours a day. At one point, his food ration was cut to three bowls of rice a day.

“It was psychologically absolutely the most grueling, painful thing I’ve ever been through,” he told the outlet. “It’s a combination of solitary confinement, total isolation and relentless interrogation for six to nine hours every day.

“They are trying to bully and torment and terrorize and coerce you ... into accepting their false version of reality… the only way to save yourself is to grovel, throw yourself on their mercy, beg for forgiveness, apologize and confess.”

Both Kovrig and Spavor were formally arrested in May 2019, after which, Kovrig said, he was taken “from hell to limbo.” They left their cells and were transferred to a pre-trial detention facility.

"If I’d gone straight into the detention center, it would have seemed horrible,” he told CBC. “But after solitary confinement, it was a big improvement."

Kovrig spent the following two years in that facility though he had cellmates, daylight through Plexiglass windows, and room to walk around. During this time he began to study a Chinese/ English dictionary in an attempt to learn the language.

Following his release, said that Canada needed to be better prepared and have a strategy in place when making arrests or taking other actions that would anger a country like China.

"For a number of reasons, the Canadian government was not prepared,” he said. The US government wasn’t prepared for the blowback from arresting Meng Wanzhou, and so it took them a long time to figure out what to do," he said.

Kovrig’s partner was six months pregnant at the time of his arrest. She played their daughter recordings of his voice and showed pictures of her father so she would recognize him when they finally met.

“I’ll never forget that sense of wonder, of everything being new and wonderful again and pushing my daughter on a swing that had her saying to her mother, ‘Mummy, I’m so happy,’” he said