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BEIJING (AP) – A Chinese court on Tuesday dismissed a Canadian drug convict’s appeal against a death sentence in what appeared to be an effort to step up pressure on Canada to release a detained cadre of the giant of Huawei technology.
The Canadian government condemned the decision and called on China to grant clemency to Robert Schellenberg. His sentence was sharply increased to 15 years in prison to death after the arrest on December 1, 2018, of Meng Wanzhou on US charges relating to possible relations with Iran.
In separate cases, two other Canadians, a former diplomat and an entrepreneur, were arrested on charges of espionage as China demanded Meng’s release.
Northeastern Liaoning Province Higher People’s Court dismissed Schellenberg’s appeal and referred the case to the Chinese Supreme Court for review, as required by law before death sentences can be executed.
“We condemn the verdict in the strongest terms and call on China to grant Robert clemency,” Canadian Ambassador to Beijing Dominic Barton told reporters. He called the sentence “cruel and inhuman”.
“His retrial and the subsequent conviction were arbitrary,” Barton said by telephone from northeastern Shenyang City, where he attended the appeal court hearing.
Schellenberg was convicted of smuggling 222 kilograms (448 pounds) of methamphetamine, according to the court. He was sentenced in November 2018 to 15 years and sentenced to death in January 2019 after a one-day retrial.
Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor were arrested in December 2018 and later charged with espionage.
A Canadian judge will hear final arguments in the coming weeks on whether Meng should be extradited. She lives under house arrest in Vancouver.
Canada is one, along with Australia and the Philippines, in a growing group of countries facing arrests of their citizens, trade boycotts and other pressure from Beijing over political disputes.
The United States and other governments have warned their citizens of an “increased risk of arbitrary detention” in China for purposes other than law enforcement.
Barton said he would travel to the northeastern city of Dandong later on Tuesday to see Spavor.
When asked when a decision in the Spavor case could be made, Barton said: “Our feeling is that it is tomorrow”. As for Kovrig, the ambassador said, “we have not received any indication on this subject.”
When asked if the three cases were related to Meng’s, Barton said, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this is happening right now as events unfold in Vancouver.” He said the case was “part of the geopolitical process of what’s going on.”
The ambassador said Canadian diplomats spoke with Schellenberg after the decision, but declined to give details.
“He’s remarkably composed,” Barton said. “We had a good conversation.”
Diplomats from the United States, Germany, Australia and France attended Tuesday’s hearing, according to Barton. He thanked them and other governments for expressing their support for Canada.
Two other Canadians, Fan Wei and Xu Weihong, were also sentenced to death for drug trafficking in separate cases in 2019, as relations between Beijing and Ottawa deteriorated.
The United States wants Huawei executive Meng, who is the daughter of the company’s founder, extradited to face charges she lied to banks in Hong Kong in dealings with the company. Iran that could violate trade sanctions.
The Chinese government has criticized the deal as a politically motivated attempt to hamper the development of the country’s industry.
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