Canadian Man To Appeal China's Death Sentence

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2019-05-08 HKT 13:06

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  • Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was originally given 15 years in prison, but a higher court ruled later that this sentence was too lenient. File photo: AFP

    Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was originally given 15 years in prison, but a higher court ruled later that this sentence was too lenient. File photo: AFP

A Canadian man handed the death penalty for drug smuggling on the mainland will appeal his sentence on Thursday, in a case that has deepened the diplomatic rift between Beijing and Canada.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was sentenced to death on drug trafficking charges in January.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the decision as "arbitrarily" chosen.

Schellenberg's appeal will take place on Thursday morning at the Dalian Intermediate People's Court in northeastern Liaoning province, a source familiar with the case said.

The Dalian court declined to comment. The provincial level Liaoning High People's Court did not immediately respond to request for comment.

"Canada remains extremely concerned that China has chosen to apply the death penalty, a cruel and inhumane punishment," Canadian foreign ministry spokeswoman Brittany Fletcher said.

Canadian officials plan to attend Thursday's hearing. "Canada has requested, and will continue to seek, clemency for Mr Schellenberg," she said.

Schellenberg was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison and a 150,000-yuan forfeiture in November.

But following an appeal, the high court in Liaoning ruled in December that the sentence was too lenient given the severity of his crimes.

About a month later, his sentence was changed to capital punishment.

Last week, another Canadian, Fan Wei, was sentenced to death for drug trafficking in a separate case in Guangdong.

These cases come against the backdrop of Beijing's anger over the December arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei, who faces a US extradition hearing in Canada on Wednesday.

Schellenberg's case is seen as potential leverage for Meng, who was arrested on a US extradition request related to Iran sanctions violations – a link that Beijing has repeatedly denied.

Following the Huawei executive's arrest in December, the mainland detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, in what observers saw as retaliation. (AFP)

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