The Canadian government has blasted China over the “cruel and inhumane” capital punishment faced by a Canadian citizen, whose death sentence for drug trafficking was upheld by a Chinese court.
Robert Schellenberg’s defense team has lost an appeal against his death sentence, marking the latest turn in a protracted court battle over the 2014 drug charges. The Higher People’s Court of Liaoning Province ruled on Tuesday that his “conviction was accurate, the sentence was appropriate, and the trial procedures were legal.”
The decision was criticized by senior Canadian officials. Foreign Minister Marc Garneau condemned Beijing, saying in a statement that his country opposes death penalty “in any case,” calling Schellenberg’s sentence “arbitrary.”
“We have repeatedly expressed to China our strong opposition to this cruel and inhumane punishment and will continue to engage with Chinese officials at the highest level to grant clemency to Mr. Schellenberg,” he said.
Canada’s ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, voiced the same sentiment when speaking to reporters after the court ruling. He said the case was “part of the geopolitical process,” referring to Canadian claims that China is using ‘hostage diplomacy’ with Canadian citizens.
This is result of Ottawa bowing to Washington and arresting Chinese Huawei executive on a request by the US after her company allegedly was doing business with Iran. The rule is, if the USA doesn’t do business with Iran, no one else is allowed. Canada is certainly paying the price for bowing to the US and will likely continue to do so.
