Robert Schellenberg was sentenced to prison in 2018 for drug smuggling. Surprisingly he was convicted again in January 2019, and the sentence was increased to the death penalty.
This happened at a time when the Chinese authorities were trying to pressure Canada to release the head of the Chinese company Huawei, Meng Wanzhou. She was arrested in Canada because the US charged her with fraud and violating US sanctions against Iran.
A court in Liaoning Province rejected Schellenberg’s appeal and wrote in a statement that the ruling was appropriate and that proceedings in a lower court were legally valid.
“We strongly condemn the sentence and ask China to reduce the sentence,” Canadian Ambassador to Beijing Dominic Barton said.
– Barton said by phone from the northeastern city of Shenyang, where he attended the announcer’s hearing, that the trial and subsequent punishment were completely arbitrary.
The case has been sent to the Chinese Supreme Court for review, which is required before the death sentence can be carried out.
“We remain deeply concerned about China’s arbitrary use of the death penalty,” Barton added.
Schellenberg was arrested in December 2014 and charged the following year with complicity in the smuggling of 222 kilograms of methamphetamine from China to Australia.
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