China sentences Canadian to death
BEIJING — A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death Monday in a drug-smuggling case as tensions heightened between the two countries over Canada’s arrest last month of a top Chinese technology executive.
In a sudden retrial, a Chinese court in northeastern Liaoning province announced it had given Robert Lloyd Schellenberg the death penalty, reversing a 2016 ruling that sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
Schellenberg’s fate is likely to be drawn into diplomatic negotiations over China’s demand for the release of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned Monday’s proceeding, suggesting that China is using its judicial system to retaliate against Canada. Trudeau said “all countries around the world” should be concerned that Beijing is acting arbitrarily with its justice system.
Further escalating the diplomatic crisis, a Chinese spokeswoman said earlier Monday that Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat taken into custody in apparent retaliation for Meng’s arrest, was not eligible for diplomatic immunity.
Schellenberg was detained more than four years ago. But within weeks of Meng’s arrest Dec. 1, an appeals court suddenly reversed that decision, saying the sentence was too lenient, and scheduled Monday’s retrial with just four days’ notice.
The Chinese press began publicizing Schellenberg’s case after Canada detained Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, at the request of the United States, which wants her extradited to face charges that she committed fraud by misleading banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran.
Days after Meng’s arrest, Kovrig and Canadian businessman Michael Spavor were detained on vague national security allegations. Meng is out on bail in Canada awaiting extradition proceedings.
Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo, said his client has 10 days to appeal.