I thought those were jusr their catspaws and the norm for spying was far more sociopathically aristocratic - the official spies have if not holding diplomatic immunity have some sort of official connection.
Executing them is technically legally perscribed but simply not done in practice - instead being kept for prisoner exchanges.
Their networks of local contacts who do the actual work may not even get the benefit of a third world kangaroo court trial.
The handlers usually do have diplomatic cover. The sources don't, they're local people with access to valuable information. "Catspaws" is not quite right. The people who got rounded up in China were CIA sources.
Executing them is technically legally perscribed but simply not done in practice - instead being kept for prisoner exchanges.
Their networks of local contacts who do the actual work may not even get the benefit of a third world kangaroo court trial.