China court upholds Canadian's death sentence as Huawei CFO fights extradition
Reuters
Published Aug 10, 2021 01:27AM ET
Updated Aug 10, 2021 09:18PM ET
(Corrects year Spavor was charged to 2019 from 'last year' in paragraph 11)
By Yew Lun Tian and David Ljunggren
BEIJING/OTTAWA (Reuters) -A Chinese court on Tuesday upheld a Canadian man's death sentence for drug smuggling, prompting condemnation from Ottawa, a day before another court is due to rule on the case of a Canadian accused of spying.
The court proceedings for the two Canadians come as lawyers in Canada representing the detained chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei make a final push https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/huawei-cfos-us-extradition-case-begins-final-weeks-hearings-canadian-court-2021-08-04 to persuade a court there not to extradite her to the United States.
Meng Wanzhou's hearing is in the final stretch before a Canadian judge makes a recommendation on staying or proceeding with her extradition. A ruling is expected in the autumn.
Robert Schellenberg was arrested in China in 2014 for suspected drug smuggling and convicted in 2018. He was initially sentenced to 15 years in jail but subsequently condemned to death by a court in Dalian in January 2019 - a month after Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport on a warrant from the United States.
The High Court in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning heard Schellenberg's appeal against the death sentence in May last year and confirmed the verdict on Tuesday.
"Canada strongly condemns China's decision to uphold the death penalty sentence," Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement. "We have repeatedly expressed to China our firm opposition to this cruel and inhumane punishment."
Meng was charged with misleading HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBA) about Huawei's business dealings in Iran, potentially causing the bank to violate U.S. sanctions against Tehran.
Meng, who has said she is innocent, has been fighting her extradition from Vancouver. Her bail conditions mean she can leave her residence during the day and the evening under supervision but must stay home at night.
Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, told reporters the proceedings against Canadian citizens were not a coincidence.
Barton said a court in the northeastern city of Dandong is expected to announce https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-court-expected-rule-this-week-detained-canadian-michael-spavor-source-2021-08-10 a verdict on businessman Michael Spavor as early as Wednesday.
Spavor and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig were detained in China days after Meng's arrest. Spavor was charged with espionage in June 2019 and went to trial in March. Kovrig's trial was also conducted in March. Verdicts have not yet been reported.
Get The News You Want
The cases of Spavor and Kovrig could become an issue in a Canadian federal election that Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to call in the next few days.
Erin O'Toole, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, says the Liberals are not being tough enough on China. He told reporters on Tuesday that Beijing was "planning to take the life of a Canadian for political reasons" and suggested athletes boycott the Winter Olympics in China next year.
Ottawa accused Beijing of engaging in "hostage diplomacy" in a bid to free Meng. China has rejected the suggestion that the cases are linked while warning of unspecified consequences unless Meng is released.
"Schellenberg's case is of a completely different nature from Meng's case. Those who link the two together have ulterior motives," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Chinese courts have a conviction rate of more than 99%.
Some observers have said the likely convictions of both Spavor and Kovrig could ultimately facilitate an agreement in which they are released and sent back to Canada.
Since Meng's arrest, China has sentenced at least three Chinese-born Canadians to death for drug offences.
On Tuesday, Canadian government prosecutors pushed back on assertions by Meng's lawyers that alleged abuses of process by Canadian and American authorities throughout her case should be taken together to warrant staying her extradition.
No significant misconduct took place, prosecutor Robert Frater argued, adding that reviewing each alleged abuse individually would allow the court to decide whether other remedies for each one would be sufficient.
Meng's hearings are scheduled to finish by Aug. 20
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.