China sentences Canadian to death in trafficking case
Trudeau says China acting ‘arbitrarily’ in imposing death penalty
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s very concerned to see China “acting arbitrarily” by applying the death penalty to a Canadian convicted of drug trafficking.
Canada will do all it can to intervene on Robert Lloyd Schellenberg’s behalf and Beijing’s actions should be worrisome for “all our international friends and allies,” Trudeau said Monday.
The development further strained already tense relations between Canada and China over the treatment of each other’s citizens by their respective justice systems. And rights organizations said it raises serious questions about possible political interference in China.
A court in Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province announced Monday evening that it had given Schellenberg the death penalty after reconsidering his case.
Schellenberg was detained in 2014 and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2016 on charges of being an accessory to drug smuggling.
His new sentence comes after China detained two Canadians on national security grounds in December in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a Chinese technology executive.
Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, angering Beijing.
The Chinese media began publicizing Schellenberg’s case after Canada detained Meng, who faces extradition to the U.S. on fraud charges.
Fifty people, including Canadian diplomats and foreign and domestic media, attended Monday’s trial, the court said in an online statement.
Canada’s federal government intercedes on behalf of any Canadian facing execution abroad, Trudeau said in Ottawa.
“This is very much a concern to see that China is acting arbitrarily and applying the death penalty to a Canadian,” he said, adding the government “will continue to talk to our allies and to China about this.”
Schellenberg’s aunt, Lauri Nelson-Jones, said the family is awaiting any news regarding an appeal.
“All I can really say at this moment is, it is our worst-case fear confirmed. Our thoughts are with Robert at this time,” she said in an email to The Canadian Press. “It is rather unimaginable what he must be feeling and thinking. It is a horrific, unfortunate, heartbreaking situation.”
Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo, said his client has 10 days to contest the latest sentence.
Zhang said he argued in the oneday trial Monday that there was insufficient evidence to prove Schellenberg’s involvement in the drug-smuggling operation, nor had prosecutors introduced new evidence to justify a heavier sentence.
“This is a very unique case,” Zhang told The Associated Press. He added the swiftness of the proceedings — with a retrial held so soon after it was ordered — was unusual, but he declined to comment on whether it was related to Meng’s arrest
Schellenberg had been prepared for a more severe punishment, so he maintained a calm demeanour in court, Zhang said.
The court said it found that Schellenberg was involved in an international drug-smuggling operation and was recruited to help smuggle more than 222 kilograms of methamphetamine from a warehouse in Dalian city to Australia.
A Chinese person convicted of involvement in the same operation received a suspended death sentence earlier.
A death sentence anywhere in the world is a travesty, but it is more so in places like China, where fair-trial rights remain at best elusive, said Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch. “Beijing will have to answer to the world why this particular case against a citizen of this particular country had to be retried at this particular moment.”
China’s abrupt retrial of Schellenberg “is suspicious, to say the least,” tweeted Roland Paris, a University of Ottawa professor of international affairs and a former adviser to the Trudeau government.
John Kamm, head of a U.S.-based organization that promotes clemency for at-risk prisoners in China, said the rapidity of the most recent court process raises questions about political interference.
“There are a number of very disturbing aspects to this whole case,” said Kamm, executive director of the non-profit Dui Hua Foundation.
He said his organization is advising Schellenberg’s family to seek an appeal, though the likelihood of winning such a case is slim.