‘Cruel and inhumane punishment’: Canada condemns Chinese court upholding death sentence for Canadian man over drug charges

Canada’s ambassador to China says verdict coming after arrest of Huawei executive is ‘not a coincidence’

This handout photograph taken and released by the Intermediate Peoples' Court of Dalian on January 14, 2019 shows Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg (front L) during his retrial on drug trafficking charges in the court in Dalian in China's northeast Liaoning province. (Intermediate Peoples' Court of D)

Canada’s minister of foreign affairs has lashed out at the Chinese court that upheld the death sentence of a Canadian man accused of smuggling drugs, in a case that has been one of the reasons for a growing diplomatic rift between Beijing and Ottawa.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian national, was arrested in 2014 and first sentenced to 15 years in prison in late 2018. He appealed but a court in the city of Dalian sentenced him to death in January 2019.

“Canada strongly condemns China’s decision to uphold the death penalty sentence against Robert Schellenberg. We have repeatedly expressed to China our firm opposition to this cruel and inhumane punishment and will continue to engage with Chinese officials at the highest levels to grant clemency to Mr Schellenberg. We oppose the death penalty in all cases, and condemn the arbitrary nature of Mr Schellenberg’s sentence,” said Marc Garneau, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, in a statement.

Schellenberg’s court verdict came a month after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested at Vancouver International Airport on a warrant from the United States, charged with misleading HSBC Holdings about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran, potentially causing the bank to violate American economic sanctions.

Ms Meng, who has said she is innocent, has been fighting her extradition from house arrest in Vancouver.

Schellenberg had again appealed against the 2019 verdict in May last year in the High Court in the northeast province of Liaoning. However, the court heard the matter and confirmed the verdict on Tuesday.

Canada has condemned the decision and suggested that the recent arrests of Canadians were a form of retaliation from China following the Huawei executive’s arrest. Following Ms Meng’s arrest, apart from Schellenberg, another Canadian Michael Spavor was detained in China and charged with espionage in June last year.

A Chinese court is due to hear Mr Spavor’s case on Wednesday.

Canada’s ambassador to China Dominic Barton told reporters: “It is not a coincidence that these are happening right now, while the case [of Ms Meng] is going on in Vancouver.”

China has rejected the suggestion the cases of the Canadians in China are linked to Ms Meng’s case in Canada, though Beijing had warned of unspecified consequences unless she was released.

Additional reporting by agencies