Beijing (CNN) A Canadian citizen in China has been sentenced to death after a court convicted him of drug smuggling on Monday, a move likely to further inflame tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.

The Dalian Intermediate People's Court in northeastern China said Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was given a death sentence based on the nature and severity of his crime and in accordance with the Chinese criminal code.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized the ruling, which comes as relations have strained between the two countries following the arrest of a senior executive from the Chinese tech firm Huawei in Vancouver last month.

According to the court, Schellenberg was dispatched to Dalian by drug traffickers in November 2014 to orchestrate the smuggling of more than 222 kilograms (489.4 pounds) of methamphetamine from the Chinese port city to Australia.

Schellenberg and an accomplice bought tools and tires in an attempt to repackage the drugs before shipping them out in containers, according to the prosecution.

The Canadian was said to have inspected the cargo, assessed the workload and decided on a shipping date. After his accomplice turned himself into the police, Schellenberg fled Dalian and was arrested in southern China on December 1, 2014, when he tried to fly to Thailand, the court said.

"I am not a drug smuggler. I came to China as a tourist," Schellenberg said Monday before the verdict was announced, the AFP news agency reported.

The court said Schellenberg is entitled to appeal his verdict and sentencing within 10 days. The court added that his rights to defense and translation were protected during the trial and officials from the Canadian embassy were in attendance.

Schellenberg's uncle told CNN the family was in shock over the ruling.

"We don't know how much to talk about right now and what to say. We are all very heartbroken right now and we are all in shock. We are just overwhelmed," Gary Schellenberg told CNN by phone.

Schellenberg went on to say the family is in close contact with Global Affairs Canada but have not had any contact with his nephew.

The Schellenberg family released a statement Monday asking the Canadian government to protect its citizens.

"The Schellenberg family cares deeply about our Robert who is being held under very difficult circumstances in China," the statement read. "As a family we are communicating with our Member of Parliament, Mr. Ed Fast, who is working hard on our behalf to ensure that the Trudeau Government makes every effort to secure fair treatment for Robert.

"The Schellenberg family requests that all Canadians stand with us and pray for the safe return of our loved one."

Trudeau 'concerned' amid rising tensions

Trudeau said the Chinese court's decision was "of extreme concern."

"It is of extreme concern to us as a government, as it should be to all our international friends and allies, that China has chosen to begin to arbitrarily apply the death penalty in cases facing, as in this case, facing a Canadian," Trudeau said in a news conference following Monday's ruling.

Schellenberg was first tried in March 2016 and was convicted of being an accessory to drug smuggling in November 2018. Upon receiving a sentence of 15 years in prison, he appealed the verdict.

A high court ordered a new trial in late December 2018 when the prosecution said they had uncovered new evidence to prove Schellenberg's principal role in the case.

A 2014 file photograph of Meng Wanzhou.

Schellenberg's conviction and sentencing came amid worsening diplomatic tensions between the two countries after Canadian police detained top Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on December 1.

Meng, who is also the daughter of the Chinese tech company's founder, has since been released on bail pending an extradition hearing to the United States on charges of violating sanctions against Iran. Since her arrest, multiple Canadian citizens have been detained in China.

Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada's ambassador to China from 2012 to 2016, said he believes China is making an example out of Schellenberg.

In an opinion piece on January 9, the Chinese ambassador to Canada Lu Shaye effectively confirmed that the detention of two Canadian academics was in response to Meng's arrest, raising further questions around Schellenberg's case.

"I have recently heard a word repeatedly pronounced by some Canadians: bullying. They said that by arresting two Canadian citizens as retaliation for Canada's detention of Meng, China was bullying Canada," the ambassador wrote last Wednesday in The Hill Times , a Canadian publication.

"To those people, China's self-defense is an offense to Canada. If someone slaps you on your left cheek, give him your right cheek, they told us. But I have never seen them doing as they said."

Saint-Jacques said Schellenberg's conviction is "confirmation that we're going through a crisis."

"Of course, the government will ask for clemency," he said. "I would add also that Mr. Schellenberg claims that he was framed and that he never dealt with drugs"

China severely punishes those caught smuggling or trafficking drugs, including foreigners. Anyone found with more than 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of a controlled substance can face the death penalty.

"The administration of justice is not the same in China and the way that they collect evidence would not be acceptable in North American tribunals," he said.

He said that it was normal for China to invite foreign journalists to attend the trial.

Canada updated its travel advice for citizens traveling to China Monday. The advice states that citizens should "exercise a high degree of caution in China due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws."

"The decision to travel is your choice and you are responsible for your personal safety abroad," the advisory read. "We take the safety and security of Canadians abroad very seriously and provide credible and timely information in our Travel Advice to enable you to make well-informed decisions regarding your travel abroad."

In 2009, Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen convicted of carrying up to 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of heroin, was executed by lethal injection despite fierce protests from the UK government and his family, who said he suffered from a mental disorder and was tricked into carrying the drugs.

According to China.org.cn , a government-run website, at least 12 foreign drug dealers have been executed in China since 2000, "and other foreigners were sentenced to death for other serious crimes."</s>Continue Reading Below

A Canadian man originally given 15 years in prison for drug smuggling was sentenced to death in China on Monday after a one-day retrial, the surprising verdict coming amid growing tensions between Beijing and Ottawa after the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive last month.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was given the death penalty in Dalian Intermediate People’s Court in the northeast province of Liaoning after an appeals court last month agreed with prosecutors that Schellenberg's original punishment was too lenient.

The court on Monday said Schellenberg had an “extremely large” negative impact on China and was a “core member” of an international drug ring.

CHINESE HUAWEI EMPLOYEE, POLISH FORMER INTEL OFFICER, ARRESTED IN POLAND FOR ESPIONAGE

The 36-year-old said he was a tourist in China when he was duped by a man he believed was a translator and got caught in the scheme to smuggle methamphetamines, the Globe and Mail reported.

Continue Reading Below

“I am not a drug smuggler. I am not a drug user. I am a normal person,” he said in court Monday. “I am innocent.”

Schellenberg has 10 days to appeal his sentence, the court said in a statement, which his lawyer Zhang Dongshuo told Reuters will most likely happen.

Schellenberg was arrested in 2014 and received his initial 15-year sentence last November, months after his trial began in 2016. His case was then publicized by the Chinese press following the Dec. 1 arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, on U.S. charges related to doing business with Iran.

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Schellenberg’s family said they worried China would use him as a bargaining chip following Meng’s arrest.

“He’s become a pawn,” his aunt Lauri Nelson-Jones told the New York Times. “We can only guess, but that is definitely what it looks like, and that is incredibly worrisome.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he's concerned China has chosen to "arbitrarily" apply death penalty in Schellenberg's case.

China has vehemently protested Meng’s arrest in Canada and vowed to retaliate. At least 13 Canadian citizens were detained in China since the CFO’s arrest, the Globe and Mail reported earlier this month. Eight of the people detained have since been released.

Chinese authorities also arrested two Canadians, Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman. Trudeau criticized China for “not respecting the principles of diplomatic immunity” in Kovrig’s arrest. China did not directly link the arrest to the charges against Meng, but said the men are being investigated in accordance with Chinese Law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>From political power to business to the education, food and property sectors, Communist China is increasing its power and influence in our country.

A Chinese court has sentenced a Canadian man to death in a sudden retrial in a drug smuggling case that is likely to escalate tensions between the countries over the arrest of a top Chinese technology executive.

The court in northeastern Liaoning province announced that it had given Robert Lloyd Schellenberg the death penalty after rejecting his plea of innocence and convicting him of being an accessory to drug smuggling.

The court said it found that Schellenberg was involved in an international drug smuggling operation and was recruited to help smuggle more than 222 kilograms of methamphetamine from a warehouse in Dalian city to Australia. A Chinese person convicted of involvement in the same operation was earlier given a suspended death sentence.

It gave no indication that the penalty could be commuted, but Schellenberg’s fate is likely to be drawn into diplomatic negotiations over China’s demand for the top executive’s release.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Ottawa that he is concerned that China chose to “arbitrarily” apply the death penalty to a Canadian citizen.

Schellenberg was detained more than four years ago and initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2016. But suddenly last month, an appeals court agreed with prosecutors who said the sentence was too lenient, and scheduled Monday’s retrial with just four days’ notice.

The Chinese press began publicising Schellenberg’s case in December after Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, on December 1 at the request of the United States. Since then, China has arrested two Canadians in apparent retaliation for Meng’s arrest. Both Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman, were arrested on vague national security allegations. A Canadian teacher was detained but released.

Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo, said his client now has 10 days to appeal.

Zhang said he argued in the one-day trial on Monday that there was insufficient evidence to prove his client’s involvement in the drug smuggling operation. He added that prosecutors had not introduced new evidence to justify a heavier sentence.

“This is a very unique case,” Zhang told The Associated Press in a phone interview. He said the swiftness of the proceedings — with a retrial held so soon after it was ordered — was unusual, but declined to comment on whether it was related to Meng’s arrest.

Schellenberg had been prepared for a more severe punishment, so he maintained a calm demeanour in court, Zhang said.

Fifty people, including Canadian diplomats and foreign and domestic media, attended Monday’s trial, the court said in an online statement.

In 2009, China executed a Briton, Akmal Shaikh, on charges of smuggling heroin despite his supporters’ protest that he was mentally ill.

Earlier on Monday, China said Kovrig, the former Canadian diplomat detained in December, does not enjoy diplomatic immunity, rejecting a complaint from Mr Trudeau that the man’s rights were being denied.

Mr Trudeau said last week that Chinese officials were not respecting Kovrig’s diplomatic immunity. However, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters that Kovrig is no longer a diplomat and entered China on an ordinary passport and business visa.

“According to the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations and international law, he is not entitled to diplomatic immunity,” Hua said at a daily briefing.

Kovrig, a Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank, took a leave of absence from the Canadian government.

Washington wants Meng — the daughter of Huawei’s founder extradited to face charges that she misled banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran. She is out on bail in Canada and awaiting a bail extradition proceeding next month.

China’s ambassador to Canada accused the country last week of “white supremacy” in calling for the release of the two Canadians, while describing the detentions as an “act of self-defence.”

However, Hua said the allegation that China arbitrarily detained Canadian citizens is “totally groundless.”

On Friday, Poland arrested a Huawei director and one of its own former cybersecurity experts and charged them with spying for China. That comes amid a US campaign to exert pressure on its allies not to use Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of telecommunications network equipment, over data security concerns.

Poland’s move has raised concerns over the safety of its nationals in China, although Hua appeared to brush off such worries, emphasising China’s desire for the “sound and steady” development of relations with Poland.

“As long as the foreign citizens in China abide by Chinese laws and regulations, they are welcomed and their safety and freedom are guaranteed,” Hua said.</s>The sentence, announced by a court in Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province, overturned a 15-year prison sentence issued following an earlier trial that began in 2016. Schellenberg was accused of being involved with an operation that sought to smuggle 222 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in tires and tubing from China to Australia.

VANCOUVER—A death sentence was handed down Monday to Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, after a one-day trial in a Chinese court on charges of drug trafficking.

Chinese state television reported Schellenberg argued in court he’d been framed during a visit to China as a tourist. The retrial ended with his death sentence.

Chinese courts swiftly ordered a review of Schellenberg’s case in late December. Prosecutors claimed they had new evidence proving he’d played a key role in the smuggling operation. The court allowed foreign media to attend the retrial — an unusual move — but did not allow journalists to take notes or make recordings.

When his initial prison term was handed down in November 2018, Schellenberg appealed the sentence.

Schellenberg has a chance to appeal: Schellenberg, originally from Abbotsford, B.C., was initially detained in 2014.

Meng is currently out on bail in Vancouver, awaiting a possible extradition hearing to face fraud charges related to violations of U.S. trade sanctions against Iran.

Some experts and academics fear the stiffened sentence is part of a bid by Beijing to force the release of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of authorities in the United States.

Zhang told The Associated Press he argued during the trial there was insufficient evidence to prove Schellenberg’s involvement in the drug-smuggling operation, nor had prosecutors introduced new evidence to justify a heavier sentence.

According to his lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo, Schellenberg has 10 days to contest the latest sentence.

Ottawa is protesting the sentence: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday the development in Schellenberg’s case is “of extreme concern” to the Canadian government, as it should be to all of Canada’s “friends and allies.”

In the same address, Trudeau said China is “acting arbitrarily” in applying this sentence.

Beijing has condemned Trudeau’s criticism of the death sentence handed down to Schellenberg, expressing “strong dissatisfaction” with Trudeau’s characterization of the sentence as arbitrary and admonishing him to “respect the rule of law, respect China’s judicial sovereignty, correct mistakes and stop making irresponsible remarks.”

Canada intercedes on behalf of any Canadian sentenced to death in a foreign country.

Schellenberg’s family is devastated: His aunt, Lauri Nelson-Jones, said in an email to StarMetro on Monday: “All I can really say at this moment is, it is our worst-case fear confirmed. Our thoughts are with Robert at this time.

“It is rather unimaginable what he must be feeling and thinking. It is a horrific, unfortunate, heartbreaking situation. We anxiously anticipate any news regarding an appeal.”

Schellenberg’s family is in touch with Canadian MP Ed Fast, they said in another short statement. They said Fast is “working hard on our behalf to ensure that the Trudeau government makes every effort to secure fair treatment for Robert.”

This could be “death-threat diplomacy,” expert says: Some human-rights and foreign-policy experts believe the harsher sentence may be an attempt to strong-arm Canada into reconsidering its own detention of star Chinese tech executive Meng Wanzhou.

Various Chinese government officials have called Canada’s detention of Meng “groundless” and “illegal” and have accused Canada of “Western egotism and white supremacy” for its criticism of Beijing.

Donald Clarke, a law professor at George Washington University, called Schellenberg’s sentence “death-threat diplomacy,” while Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth called the development an example of “hostage politics.”

These characterizations follow similar concerns regarding the detentions of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — an ex-diplomat and an entrepreneur, respectively — who were detained in China following Meng’s arrest.

The rare permission given foreign journalists and diplomats to attend Schellenberg’s retrial buoys the perception Beijing wished to make the sentence an international issue, according to Phil Calvert, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives at the University of Victoria. Calvert served for 10 years as a diplomat in China and as Canada’s ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos from 2012 to 2016.

The death penalty is common in China: The country executes more people each year than all other countries around the world combined, according to a statement from Amnesty International.

John Kamm, head of Dui Hua, a San Francisco-based non-governmental group that advocates for political prisoners in China, said in an interview that his organization is aware of 19 foreigners — no North Americans among them — who have been executed by China from 2009 to the present.

However, according to Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China from 2012-2016, China dismissed clemency pleas by former prime minister Stephen Harper and former governor general David Johnston in the cases of two Canadians who were later executed.

Global Affairs says about 200 Canadians are currently detained in China “for a variety of infractions and continue to face legal proceedings. Many of these Canadians are out on bail or serving probation,” while a handful are in custody.

Canada has updated its travel advisory: In its first update since tensions between the two countries began last month, Canada changed its travel advisory Monday for Canadian citizens visiting China.

The Global Affairs website now warns “a high degree of caution” must be exercised while travelling in China “due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” It now cautions that “Chinese authorities apply, sometimes arbitrarily, the death penalty for both violent and non-violent crimes.”

Canada’s embassy in Beijing emailed Canadians registered in the country Monday, warning them to remain aware of these new risks and asking them to update the embassy if they leave China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s office of consular affairs, meanwhile, issued its own warning Tuesday to Chinese citizens, cautioning them to “fully assess the risks of going to Canada for tourism” since Canada has “arbitrarily detained” a Chinese national — a reference to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

How often Chinese courts commute a death sentence, and how rapidly the sentence would be carried out if upheld: Margaret Lewis, professor at Seton Hall University School of Law, said Schellenberg can first appeal to the provincial high court in Liaoning, which is expected to uphold the sentence.

The case would then go to the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), the highest court in China, which retook final review power over all death penalty cases in 2007. If the SPC upholds the case, an execution order would be sent to the lower court, Lewis said. Thereafter, the sentence could be carried out fairly quickly — an outcome Beijing may pursue as a way to pressure Canada for the release of Meng, she added.

But the SPC could also decide to modify the sentence, and there is also room for the government to slow down the pace of the proceedings.

“If the sentence is altered, one possibility is a suspended death sentence, which is usually commuted to a long prison term after two years of good behaviour,” Lewis told The Star in an email. “This would be harsher than the original 15-year sentence but certainly not as dire as the current death sentence.”

How closely Schellenberg’s sentence is related to Canada’s detention of Meng Wanzhou: While there are some unusual aspects to Schellenberg’s case, a death sentence for a conviction related to drug charges is not one of them, Lewis said.

“China takes drug smuggling very seriously, and quantities of meth that are far smaller than the 222 kilograms allegedly at issue here can lead to a death sentence,” she said, adding that while Schellenberg’s role in the smuggling operation appears to be in dispute, no one seems to be disputing the existence of the drugs.

“Accordingly … aside from the defendant’s foreign nationality triggering certain consular assistance requirements, this seemed (initially to be) an unremarkable drug case.”

On the other hand, the “rapid-fire pace” of court proceedings from appeal to retrial does raise some red flags, Lewis said. Most often, a retrial occurs when courts have learned of new evidence that suggests a lighter sentence is warranted. The court’s decision to send the case from appeal back to retrial is therefore unusual, given the government’s clear intent to seek — after four years of investigation and trial — harsher punishment for what it suddenly alleged was Schellenberg’s key role in the smuggling operation.

The government’s decision to allow foreign media coverage likewise points toward political motives, Lewis said.

“Why the shift to alleging Schellenberg as a key participant?” Lewis asked. “Why the rapid pace of the proceedings, including the almost immediate decision on appeal and same-day announcement of the new, much harsher sentence? Why the push for international attention? It’s not a long inferential bridge to the conclusion that the case has become intertwined in the China-Canada diplomatic row.”

With files from Tonda MacCharles and The Canadian Press</s>One day after China sentenced a Canadian man to die, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says officials have made a formal request for clemency.

In response to questions from reporters on Tuesday, Freeland said that she has met twice with China’s ambassador to Canada about the decision on Monday to up the sentence imposed on Robert Schellenberg, who was sentenced to 15 years in Chinese prison for drug smuggling but received the death sentence following his appeal of that ruling.

READ MORE: China criticizes Trudeau’s remarks on death sentence decision, says he should ‘respect rule of law’

“We have already spoken with China’s ambassador to Canada and requested clemency,” she told reporters.

“I would also like to say with the case of Mr. Schellenberg, it’s important for us to remember that we’re talking about a human being, about a person. I spoke yesterday with Mr. Schellenberg’s father and it was a very emotional conversation for him, as people might imagine.”

She continued, adding that “I think I speak for all Canadians that we really understand how difficult the situation is and I think the Schellenberg family has our country’s sympathy.”

— More to come …</s>BEIJING — A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a Canadian man to death for drug smuggling after prosecutors said his original 15-year sentence was too lenient.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was detained in 2014. A court in Dalian announced Monday night that after being re-tried he was now facing execution.

The sentence comes after China detained two Canadians in December in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of a Chinese technology executive.

Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, raising tensions between Canada and China.

Schellenberg was told in court he has the right to appeal within 10 days of receiving the ruling. In a statement, the court alleged he was involved in organized international drug crimes.

Schellenberg was to have been deported after serving his sentence.</s>BEIJING (NYTIMES) – China’s diplomatic clash with Canada escalated sharply on Monday (Jan 14), when a Canadian man was sentenced to death for drug smuggling after a Chinese court overrode his plea of innocence at a retrial that had been swiftly called after tensions erupted between the two countries.

The court in northeastern China announced the death penalty against the Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, after a retrial that lasted one day, and gave no indication that his sentence might be reduced to a prison sentence.

Schellenberg’s fate is likely to become a volatile factor in diplomacy between Beijing and Ottawa after Canadian authorities arrested a Chinese tech executive last month.

A terse official statement from the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court said that it had “convicted Schellenberg of smuggling drugs and sentenced him to death.”

Last month, a court ordered Schellenberg to be retried after he appealed a 15-year prison sentence for smuggling methamphetamines.

But against a backdrop of sharply increased tensions between China and Canada, the court sided with prosecutors who called for a stiffer sentence at a new trial.

“The worst-case scenario is what happened, our worst fears were realised,” Schellenberg’s aunt, Lauri Nelson-Jones, who has acted as a spokeswoman for his family, said by telephone from Maryland.

She said she was trying to contact his immediate family to find out if they knew about the court judgment. “I didn’t think we’d get a verdict this fast regardless of the outcome,” Ms Nelson-Jones said. “It’s shocking, especially from a North American view of how things go.”

Prosecutors and Schellenberg on Monday offered starkly different accounts of his role in the smuggling operation.

Prosecutors told the court that they “now have evidence that highly suggests Schellenberg was involved in organised international drug crime,” China’s central television broadcaster said in an online report. “Schellenberg argued that he was a tourist visiting China and framed by criminals.”

Schellenberg’s unusually swift appeal hearing and retrial came after the Chinese government was incensed by the December arrest in Vancouver, British Columbia, of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer.

Before the retrial, Schellenberg’s family had voiced fears that he would become a bargaining chip for Beijing to seek Ms Meng’s release, Ms Nelson-Jones said.

“He’s become a pawn,” she said. “We can only guess, but that is definitely what it looks like and that is incredibly worrisome.”

Schellenberg appears to be the first North American sentenced to death in China in recent times.

The sentence must still be examined and ratified by China’s highest court, the Supreme People’s Court.

As well imposing the death sentence on Schellenberg, Chinese authorities arrested two Canadians last month: Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat; and Michael Spavor, a businessman.

Those men have been accused of “endangering national security,” a sweeping charge that can include espionage. The police, however, have not announced any specific allegations against them while they remain in secret detention, denied visits from lawyers and family members.

The International Crisis Group, which gives advice on solving conflicts, has adamantly denied that Kovrig did anything to harm China. 

 Some foreign experts have said China’s swift action in all three cases appeared intended to pressure Canada to free Ms Meng and return her to China, rather than sending her to the United States.</s>China's decision on Monday to sentence Canadian citizen Robert Schellenberg to death for drug trafficking set off a flurry of media attention. The case would be notable even in relatively normal times in China-Canada relations. These are not normal times.

It is clear that Schellenberg's case is being influenced by the tense political atmosphere between China and Canada — the question is to what extent. In that way, it is different from many drug smuggling cases that Chinese courts have handled in the past.

What foreign audiences should not lose sight of, however, is that many legal aspects of the case are typical: the information available shows the lack of procedural fairness. Regardless of what Schellenberg did or did not do — and the facts are in dispute — he deserves a fair chance to contest the charges before an impartial court. Like many defendants in China before him, this has not occurred.

The sudden acceleration in the pace of Schellenberg's case's progression through the courts cannot help but raise eyebrows of political meddling. First arrested in December 2014, his initial sentence of 15-years' imprisonment was not announced until November 2018. This is an unusually long time for a criminal case in China. Yet these events all occurred before the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on Dec. 1.

After that, the developments in Schellenberg's case shifted into high gear. Schellenberg appealed the verdict, and the appeal was heard at the end of December, at which point Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor had already spent several weeks in detention.

Little is known of the allegations against these two Canadians other than vague reports from the Chinese government that they fall under the broad umbrella of endangering state security. The timing of the detentions — on the heels of Meng's arrest, combined with the ease with which "state security" can be invoked under Chinese law — make it impossible to escape a conclusion that political considerations are at least a partially driving the detentions.

The timing of Schellenberg's appeal was brisk but not particularly surprising. Yet, as noted by professor Donald Clarke in his close analysis of the case on Lawfare Blog, that the appellate court took only 20 minutes to reach a decision suggests the outcome was preordained. The case then sped forward to the Jan. 14 one-day trial and same-day issuance of a death sentence.

The rush to announce the death penalty, coupled with not only the permission but the actual encouragement by the Chinese government that foreign media view the proceedings, smacks of a desire to send a message to audiences outside of China.

Schellenberg's Canadian citizenship is now inseparable from the handling of his case. But concerns about the fairness of court proceedings are not unique to cases involving diplomatic rows.

For instance, foreign reporters who viewed court proceedings cited repeated comments by judges that the defense was taking too long. Reporters further noted significant mistranslations during the hearing, as well as testimony from a government witness (and alleged accomplice) that directly implicated Schellenberg as a key player in a drug smuggling ring. There is no indication whether the government promised this witness lenient treatment in exchange for cooperation, which is crucial information for the defense to impeach a witness's credibility.

In addition, comments by the prosecution that Schellenberg was not forthcoming with answers at the original trial underscore that, under Chinese law, there is no robust right to silence that protects defendants from adverse inferences based on a decision to remain silent.

Translation quality is more pronounced in this case than in most criminal cases in China, where foreign defendants are not usually involved. The other procedural concerns, however, are common. Schellenberg, like so many other criminal defendants in China, was not given a fair opportunity to challenge the government's case against him.

The next steps in the case are straightforward under the criminal procedure law: Schellenberg may appeal to the provincial high court, which in all likelihood will uphold the verdict. Action will then shift to the Supreme People's Court for final review.

Legally, there is more flexibility on timing once the case is in the hands of the Supreme People's Court. That means, politically, there is room for maneuvering. The Chinese government may decide to keep up a fast clip towards execution as a way to increase pressure on Canada. Or the Chinese government may decide to slow down the process to allow additional time for diplomatic discussions.

And the Canadian government has choices too, namely whether to be steadfast in its position that China's conduct towards its citizens will not influence how it handles Meng's case. No doubt, the Canadian government is wrestling with how much to seek quiet diplomacy behind closed doors — a more challenging option when the Chinese government publicizes these cases to the world, and considering how decisions in the current cases could affect Canada's credibility in the future when facing pushback from Beijing.

It is impossible to foretell how events in the cases of Schellenberg, Kovrig, and Spavor will play out. But what is within the power of foreign audiences is to be unrelenting in demands that they receive fair treatment, even if those demands are rebuffed.

This column is part of CBC's Opinion section. For more information about this section, please read our FAQ.</s>China is not putting pressure on Canada by sentencing a Canadian to death for drug smuggling, and any suggestion it was doing so showed “rude contempt” of China’s law, its state media said.

Relations between China and Canada have been severely strained since early December when Canadian police arrested Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, on a US extradition warrant.

China subsequently detained two Canadians on suspicion of endangering state security, but it has not linked their arrests to Meng’s case.

On Monday, a Chinese court handed down the death penalty to another Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, for smuggling 222kg of methamphetamine, in a retrial of his case after he had appealed against a 15-year prison sentence.

Canada warns citizens about China’s ‘arbitrary enforcement of laws’ after drug smuggling death sentence

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was of “extreme concern” that China had chosen to “arbitrarily apply” the death penalty.

China has not linked Schellenberg’s sentence to Meng’s case and the nationalist tabloid said in an editorial late on Monday that the idea that China was putting pressure on Canada with the sentence was “unreasonable speculation” and showed “rude contempt toward Chinese law”.

“Public opinion in Canada has claimed recently that China is ‘politicising’ Schellenberg’s case, but what Canada is doing is actually politicising law,” said.

“Whatever Canada does, it is the rule of law, but whatever China does is not. Canadian elites are feeling so righteous with this double standard, and it is time for them to wake up from such cultural and value narcissism.”

Drug smuggling is routinely punished severely in China, and foreigners convicted of drug crimes have been executed before, including a Briton in 2009.

Schellenberg’s lawyer said on Monday he would appeal.

International rights groups condemned the sentence, with some saying it was too severe and suggesting it may have been politically motivated.

“China is going to face lots of questions about why this particular person, of this particular nationality, had to be retried at this particular time,” Human Rights Watch’s Washington-based China director Sophie Richardson said.

Although Schellenberg was arrested in 2014, state media has played up coverage of his case following the deterioration in China-Canada relations.

In an unusual move, the court invited media to cover the retrial, and state television aired an unusually long segment – lasting five minutes – on the proceedings.

said the sentence would convey a message to the West that “drug smuggling faces higher risks in China”.

“The trial will also send the message that China won’t yield to outside pressure in implementing its law,” it said.

The other two Canadians in detention are Michael Kovrig, a diplomat on unpaid leave from the embassy in Beijing, and Michael Spavor, a consultant.</s>Canada has warned its citizens of the “risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws” in China after a Canadian was handed the death sentence in a retrial.

“We encourage Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution in China due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” said the statement released on Tuesday, though it did not mention directly the sentencing of Robert Lloyd Schellenberg on drug charges.

A court in Dalian sentenced Schellenberg to death for drug smuggling on Monday.

The sentence has been seen as retaliation by Beijing for Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou’s arrest in Canada in December at the request of the United States, where she is accused of fraud related to Iranian sanctions violations.

Justin Trudeau vows to ‘intercede’ as Canadian Robert Schellenberg is sentenced to death in China for drug trafficking

Schellenberg, 36, had previously been sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2016, but the Liaoning high court ordered a retrial on December 29 after the sentence was deemed “too lenient”.

Schellenberg’s lawyer Zhang Dongshuo said the sentence was “very regretful”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was prepared to intervene on Schellenberg’s behalf. “It is of extreme concern to us as a government, as it should be to all our international friends and allies, that China has chosen to begin to arbitrarily apply [the] death penalty … as in this case facing a Canadian,” Trudeau told Canadian media on Monday.

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Following the arrest of Meng on December 1, China arrested Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor days later, accusing them of endangering national security.

Canada, the European Union, the US and other countries have denounced the detentions of Spavor and Kovrig as arbitrary.
Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian in China, is sentenced to death after a one-day retrial for attempting to smuggle over 222 kilograms (489.4 pounds) of methamphetamine through the country. Schellenberg's new sentence comes amid increasing tensions between Canada and China.