A Canadian man detained in China for drug smuggling has also been sentenced to death on appeal. The Canadian, Robert Schellenberg, has tried to smuggle more than 200 kilos of crystal meth from China to Australia, according to the court.
Schellenberg was also sentenced to death by a lower court two years ago, after being jailed for 15 years for smuggling and the prosecutors appealed.
Canada strongly condemned the ruling and asked China to pardon Schellenberg. Canadians say there has been no fair trial.
‘Conviction is pressure’
According to Canada, the conviction is intended as a means of pressure to release top woman Meng Wanzhou of the Chinese technology group Huawei. The Canadians arrested her at the end of 2018 at the request of the US, which wants to try her for fraud and evasion of US sanctions against Iran.
A Canadian court will decide this month whether Meng will be extradited to the United States. The Huawei CEO has been placed under house arrest in Vancouver.
The international community is concerned about the position of foreigners in China. The United States has called on Americans in China to be extra vigilant.
The US, Germany, France and Australia have informed Canada that they are supporting the country in the conflict with China.
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