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China Sentences a Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, to Death China Sentences a Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, to Death
(about 1 hour later)
BEIJING — China’s diplomatic clash with Canada escalated sharply on Monday, when a Chinese court swiftly sentenced a Canadian to death for drug smuggling at the end of a one-day retrial that was ordered weeks after a Chinese executive was arrested in British Columbia. BEIJING — China’s diplomatic clash with Canada escalated sharply on Monday, when a Chinese court sentenced a Canadian to death for drug smuggling at a one-day retrial ordered weeks after a Chinese executive’s arrest in Canada.
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 prison time. Mr. Schellenberg’s fate is likely to become a volatile factor in diplomacy between Beijing and Ottawa after the Canadian authorities arrested a Chinese technology executive last month. In announcing the death penalty against the Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, the court, in the northeast city of Dalian, gave no indication that his sentence might be reduced to prison time.
Last month, a court ordered a retrial of Mr. Schellenberg 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. Mr. Schellenberg’s fate could become a volatile factor in diplomacy between Beijing and Ottawa in the aftermath of the arrest by Canadian authorities of a Chinese technology executive in British Columbia last month — a move that incensed the Chinese government.
“The evidence is compelling and ample, and the criminal charges are well founded,” the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court said, according to an official account published online. “Schellenberg was a principal culprit.” Mr. Schellenberg had appealed a 15-year prison sentence for smuggling methamphetamines. But during his retrial, against the backdrop of sharply increased tensions between China and Canada, the court sided with prosecutors who called for capital punishment.
Mr. Schellenberg’s aunt, Lauri Nelson-Jones, who has acted as a spokeswoman for his family, said by telephone from Marylandthe decision was the “worst-case scenario,” adding that “our worst fears were realized.” She said she was trying to contact his immediate family. “The evidence is compelling and ample, and the criminal charges are well founded,” the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court said of Mr. Schellenberg’s death sentence, according to an official account published online. “Schellenberg was a principal culprit.”
“I didn’t think we’d get a verdict this fast,” Ms. Nelson-Jones said. “It’s shocking, especially from a North American view of how things go.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, reacting to the death sentence, said his government would try to intercede in Mr. Schellenberg’s case.
At the trial on Monday, the prosectors and the judges laid out an account of a failed drug-smuggling operation that was starkly at odds with Mr. Schellenberg’s testimony. “I will say 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 death penalty” in cases like this one, he told reporters in Ottawa.
Mr. Schellenberg’s aunt, Lauri Nelson-Jones, said by telephone from Maryland that the decision was the “worst-case scenario.”
“I didn’t think we’d get a verdict this fast,” Ms. Nelson-Jones said, adding that she was trying to contact his immediate family. “It’s shocking, especially from a North American view of how things go.”
At the trial on Monday, the prosecutors and judges laid out an account of a failed drug-smuggling operation starkly at odds with Mr. Schellenberg’s testimony.
He had told the court that he was a “tourist visiting China and framed by criminals,” China’s central television broadcaster said in an online report.He had told the court that he was a “tourist visiting China and framed by criminals,” China’s central television broadcaster said in an online report.
But the court saw Mr. Schellenberg as a knowing and skilled participant in the smuggling scheme, which involved trying to ship nearly 500 pounds of methamphetamines to Australia in pellets stuffed inside tires. But the court saw Mr. Schellenberg as a skilled participant in the smuggling scheme, which involved trying to ship nearly 500 pounds of methamphetamines to Australia in pellets stuffed inside tires.
The court report said that Mr. Schellenberg had assessed the equipment for the planned crime — including tires, tubes and containers — and suggested delaying the drug shipment to allow for more preparation. The court report said Mr. Schellenberg had assessed the equipment for the planned crime — including tires, tubes and containers — and suggested delaying the drug shipment to allow for more preparation.
Mr. 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. The Chinese executive arrested in Canada, Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer, is out on bail and under house arrest in Canada until the courts there decide whether she can be extradited to the United States.
American prosecutors have accused her of fraudulent bank transactions related to business deals with Iran that violated United States sanctions.
Before the retrial, Mr. 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.Before the retrial, Mr. 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.” “He’s become a pawn,” she said.
Mr. 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 the country’s highest court, the Supreme People’s Court. Mr. Schellenberg’s sentence must still be examined and ratified by the country’s highest court, the Supreme People’s Court.
Last month, before imposing the death sentence on Mr. Schellenberg, the Chinese authorities arrested two other Canadians: Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat; and Michael Spavor, a businessman. Last month, the Chinese authorities arrested two other Canadians — Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman — accusing them of “endangering national security.”
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, and the two men remain in secret detention, denied visits from lawyers and family members. The police, however, have not announced any specific allegations, and the two men remain in secret detention, denied visits from lawyers and family members.
On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, said Mr. Kovrig did not have diplomatic immunity, rejecting a comment from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, who on Friday suggested that Mr. Kovrig had such protection. On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, said Mr. Kovrig did not have diplomatic immunity, rejecting a suggestion by Mr. Trudeau on Friday that Mr. Kovrig enjoyed such protection.
Mr. Kovrig, who works for the International Crisis Group, is on leave from Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign service. The International Crisis Group, which gives advice on solving conflicts, has adamantly denied that Mr. Kovrig did anything to harm China. Mr. Kovrig, who works for the International Crisis Group, is on leave from Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign service. The organization, which gives advice on solving conflicts, has denied that Mr. 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. The prospect that Mr. Schellenberg could be executed created a potent threat, they said.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. The prospect that Mr. Schellenberg could be executed created a potent threat, they said.
“Sending the case back for retrial gives China the opportunity to threaten death and to drag out that threat for as long as necessary,” Donald Clarke, a professor at the George Washington University Law School who is an expert on Chinese law, wrote in a commentary last week for Lawfare, a national security blog. The death sentence accompanied by unusually intense publicity appeared “intended to exert pressure on the Canadian authorities,” said Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat who served in Beijing and now teaches at Brock University in Ontario.
“The case appears to reinforce the message, previously suggested by the detentions of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, that China views the holding of human hostages as an acceptable way to conduct diplomacy,” Professor Clarke wrote. “The fact that Mr. Schellenberg did not get the normal two year suspension of execution pending good behavior in prison typically extended in such cases enhances the urgency of the matter for Canada,” he said in an email.
Before his arrest in 2014, Mr. Schellenberg, 36, had been an adventurous traveler who used earnings from working in Alberta’s oil fields to pay for his travels in Asia, Ms. Nelson-Jones said by telephone. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Mr. Schellenberg’s second trial seemed blatantly orchestrated and political because of the timing, the government appeal of the original sentence and the decision to allow foreign journalists into the courtroom.
Mr. Schellenberg grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia, surrounded by a large extended family. He kept in irregular contact with his family as he roamed around Asia, especially Thailand, Ms. Nelson-Jones said. “If they would like to show transparency, they would have started years ago,” he said.
“He called and told his dad — my brother — that he was heading off to China, and it was just like, ‘O.K., whatever,’” she said. About a month later, Mr. Schellenberg’s family learned that he had been arrested. Mr. Saint-Jacques, ambassador from 2012 to 2016, said that during that time, two Canadians were sentenced to death for drug crimes, and executed, despite many pleas for their lives made directly by the then Canadian Prime Minister. .
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied that Mr. Schellenberg’s trial and the arrests of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor are related to Ms. Meng’s arrest. At a news briefing on Friday, a spokesman for the ministry, Lu Kang, said critics should not undermine Chinese law for political purposes.
But Chinese officials have diluted that argument by suggesting that their government was engaged in “defense” after the arrest of Ms. Meng.
In an op-ed for a Canadian newspaper last week, the Chinese ambassador to Ottawa, Lu Shaye, said the calls to release Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor amounted to an assertion of “Western egotism and white supremacy.”
Mr. Schellenberg, 36, grew up in Abbotsford, British Columbia, surrounded by a large extended family.
Before his arrest in 2014, he had been an adventurous traveler who used earnings from working in Alberta’s oil fields to pay for his travels in Asia, Ms. Nelson-Jones said by telephone. He kept in irregular contact with his family, she said.
“He called and told his dad — my brother — that he was heading off to China, and it was just like, ‘O.K., whatever,’” she said. About a month later, the family learned he had been arrested.
Mr. Schellenberg was detained for 15 months before his first trial, and it took an additional 32 months before a court declared him guilty and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.Mr. Schellenberg was detained for 15 months before his first trial, and it took an additional 32 months before a court declared him guilty and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
The tempo of Mr. Schellenberg’s case has accelerated since Ms. Meng’s arrest. She is out on bail and under house arrest in Canada until the courts there decide whether she can be extradited to the United States. American prosecutors have accused her of fraudulent bank transactions related to business deals with Iran that violated United States sanctions. At Mr. Schellenberg’s appeal hearing last month, prosecutors said emerging evidence indicated he had played a bigger role in a drug trafficking network, and so his initial sentence was too light.
At Mr. Schellenberg’s appeal hearing last month, prosecutors said that emerging evidence indicated he had played a bigger role in a drug trafficking network, and so his initial sentence was too light.
At the retrial, prosecutors produced a witness, Xu Qing, to testify against the Canadian. But Mr. Schellenberg said he was unwittingly recruited into the scheme by Mr. Xu, reported Agence France-Presse, one of three foreign news outlets allowed into the court.At the retrial, prosecutors produced a witness, Xu Qing, to testify against the Canadian. But Mr. Schellenberg said he was unwittingly recruited into the scheme by Mr. Xu, reported Agence France-Presse, one of three foreign news outlets allowed into the court.
“He is an international drug smuggler and a liar,” Mr. Schellenberg said, according to the agency. In recent years, Chinese courts have repeatedly made the point that foreigners will not be treated differently from Chinese nationals in drug convictions. Even so, death sentences for citizens of Western countries are rare in these cases.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied that Mr. Schellenberg’s trial and the arrests of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor have anything to do with Ms. Meng’s arrest. At a news briefing on Friday, a spokesman for the ministry, Lu Kang, said critics should not undermine Chinese law for political purposes.
“If there are no violations, I do hope that these people won’t just for their own sake politicize legal issues,” Mr. Lu said.
But Chinese officials have diluted that argument by suggesting that their government was engaged in “defense” after the arrest of Ms. Meng. In an op-ed for a Canadian newspaper last week, the Chinese ambassador to Ottawa, Lu Shaye, said that the calls to release Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor amounted to an assertion of “Western egotism and white supremacy.”
“They said that by arresting two Canadian citizens as retaliation for Canada’s detention of Meng, China was bullying Canada,” Mr. Lu wrote. “To those people, China’s self-defense is an offense to Canada.”
In recent years, Chinese courts have repeatedly made the point that foreigners will not be treated differently from Chinese nationals when determining sentences for drug convictions. Even so, death sentences for citizens of Western countries are rare in drug trafficking cases.
Between 2009 and 2015, China executed at least 19 foreigners for drug trafficking, according to John Kamm, chairman of the Dui Hua Foundation, a group based in San Francisco that monitors human rights in China.Between 2009 and 2015, China executed at least 19 foreigners for drug trafficking, according to John Kamm, chairman of the Dui Hua Foundation, a group based in San Francisco that monitors human rights in China.
That figure included five South Koreans, three Japanese and a French national. In 2009, China executed a British man, Akmal Shaikh, 53, for drug smuggling, despite appeals for clemency on the grounds of mental illness from his family and the British prime minister at the time. Mr. Kamm said he was astonished by the speed and severity of the sentence against Mr. Schellenberg.
Mr. Kamm said he was astonished by the speed and severity of the sentence against Mr. Schellenberg. Mr. Kamm noted that Hu Xijin, the editor of the Global Times, a nationalist Chinese newspaper, had warned before the sentencing that if Canada went ahead with Ms. Meng’s extradition to the United States, “China’s revenge will be far worse than detaining a Canadian.” Mr. Kamm noted that Hu Xijin, the editor of the Global Times, a nationalist Chinese newspaper, had warned before the sentencing that if Canada went ahead with Ms. Meng’s extradition to the United States, “China’s revenge will be far worse than detaining a Canadian.”