Canada has formally requested clemency for a Canadian man sentenced to death in China on drug trafficking charges, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday.
Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, is facing the death penalty for allegedly attempting to smuggle 222 kilograms of methamphetamines from China into Australia.
“We have already spoken with China’s ambassador to Canada and requested clemency,” Freeland told reporters at a press conference in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
Canada’s opposition to death penalty is long standing and consistent, she said.
“As Canadians know, we do not have the death penalty in Canada,” Freeland said. “We believe it is inhumane and inappropriate, and wherever the death penalty is considered with regard to a Canadian we speak out against it and indeed with regard to others.”
Tightening screws on Ottawa
Chinese officials say Canadians Michael Kovrig, right, and Michael Spavor were arrested for undermining Chinese ‘national security,’ while Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested ‘illegally’ in Canada upon U.S. request (Associated Press/ International Crisis Group/Canadian Press)
Schellenberg death sentence was seen by many in Canada as another attempt by Beijing to apply pressure on Ottawa following the arrest of a top Chines telecom executive in Canada in December.
China has also detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and a China-based Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on charges of “endangering national security” following the arrest on Dec. 1 of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, who was detained while changing flights in Vancouver.
She is wanted by the United States for allegedly breaching U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Meng was released on bail by a Canadian court to await the results of extradition proceedings.
‘Irresponsible remarks’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the media following a swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to Schellenberg’s verdict by saying his government was extremely concerned by China’s decision to “arbitrarily” apply the death sentence.
China shot back by accusing Trudeau of making “irresponsible remarks.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Tuesday that drug-related crimes are “extremely harmful to society” and pointed out that China is not the only country to have “severely cracked down” on such crimes.
“The true spirit of the rule of law implies that everyone is equal before the law,” she said.
Trudeau’s remarks show that he doesn’t have “the slightest respect for the rule of law,” Hua said.
“We are strongly dissatisfied with that and urge the Canadian side to respect the rule of law, respect China’s judicial sovereignty, correct its mistakes, and stop making irresponsible remarks,” she added.
Speaking to reporters in Saint-Hyacinthe, a southern suburb of Montreal, Freeland said Canadians should take a careful look at the government’s travel advisory, which urges travellers to “use a high degree of caution” before travelling to China.
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