A Chinese court has sentenced a Canadian man to be executed for smuggling drugs.
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.
In a second statement, the intermediate court said Schellenberg had the right to appeal to Liaoning High Court within 10 days upon receiving the ruling.
This sentence prompted Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accuse China of using the death penalty arbitrarily.
The ruling, and Trudeau’s reaction, could aggravate already sour relations between Beijing and Ottawa following the arrest of a Chinese executive in Canada and China’s subsequent detention of two Canadians.
