The family of a Canadian man who has been sentenced to death in China say their "worst fears" have been realised.
Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was given a 15-year jail term in November but, on Monday, a court said the sentence for drug smuggling was too lenient.
The ruling is likely to worsen a diplomatic row between the countries.
Last month, Canada arrested a top official at the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, on a request from the United States.
The detention of Ms Meng, 46, last month angered China and soured its relations with both Canada and the US.
Following Schellenberg's death sentence, Canada has updated its travel advice for China, urging citizens to "exercise a high degree of caution due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws".
Schellenberg's aunt, Lauri Nelson-Jones said the death sentence was "a horrific, unfortunate, heartbreaking situation".
"It is our worst case fear confirmed," she added. "It is rather unimaginable what he must be feeling and thinking."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the ruling.
"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 the death penalty," he said in a statement.
China's foreign ministry said it was "strongly dissatisfied" with Mr Trudeau's remarks, and said Canada should respect China's sovereignty.
Schellenberg has 10 days to launch an appeal and his lawyer told Reuters news agency that he would probably do so.
What is Schellenberg's case about?
The Canadian, who is believed to be 36, was arrested in 2014 and accused of planning to smuggle almost 500lb (227kg) of methamphetamine from China to Australia.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November but, following an appeal, a high court in the north-eastern city of Dalian on Monday sentenced him to death.
China is believed to execute more people annually than any other country, but is highly secretive about the number.
Human rights group Amnesty International puts the figure in the thousands - more than the rest of the world's nations put together.
A number of foreigners have been executed for drug-related offenses in the past, including British man Akmal Shaikh, who was executed in 2009 despite claims he was mentally ill, and an appeal for clemency from the UK prime minister.
What's the bigger picture?
Relations between China and Canada have deteriorated rapidly since the arrest of Ms Meng in Vancouver on 1 December.
She was granted bail by a Canadian court several days later but remains under constant surveillance and must wear an electronic ankle tag.
Ms Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused in the US of using a subsidiary of the company called Skycom to evade sanctions on Iran between 2009 and 2014.
She denies any wrongdoing and says she will contest the allegations.
In the weeks that followed her arrest China detained two other Canadian citizens.
Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor face accusations of harming national security.
China has denied the detention of the two men is tied to Ms Meng's arrest, but many analysts believe it is a tit-for-tat action.
Donald Clarke, a specialist in Chinese law at George Washington University, said that Schellenberg's death sentence appeared to be "an unprecedented step in China's diplomacy".
"I have seen cases I considered unjust before, but I cannot recall a previous case that looked so clearly unconnected to the defendant's guilt or innocence," Prof Clarke told the BBC's Chinese service.
China began working hard to push Schellenberg's case to international prominence, taking the highly unusual step of inviting foreign journalists into the court, the BBC's John Sudworth in Beijing reports.
And despite the Canadian's insistence that he is innocent, his retrial lasted just a day, with his death sentence being announced barely an hour after its conclusion, our correspondent says.
An editorial in the nationalist state-backed Chinese newspaper Global Times on Tuesday said "unreasonable speculation" in Western media linking his case to Ms Meng's showed "rude contempt toward Chinese law".
"The trial will also send the message that China won't yield to outside pressure in implementing its law," it said.
However, back in December, the editor of the Global Times warned that China would "definitely take retaliatory measures against Canada" if Ms Meng were not released.
Hu Xijin said in a video posted on the Global Times website: "If Canada extradites Meng to the US, China's revenge will be far worse than detaining a Canadian."
Source: BBC News, January 15, 2019
China criticizes Trudeau comments on death penalty case
BEIJING (AP) — China expressed its “strong dissatisfaction” with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday over his criticism of a death sentence given to an alleged Canadian drug smuggler at a hastily conducted retrial that followed a chilling of relations over the arrest of a senior Chinese technology executive.
Trudeau should “respect the rule of law, respect China’s judicial sovereignty, correct mistakes and stop making irresponsible remarks,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
“We express our strong dissatisfaction with this,” Hua told reporters at a daily briefing.
Her comments are the latest sign of a sharp cooling of China-Canada ties since Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States.
The U.S. wants Meng extradited to face charges that she committed fraud by misleading banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran.
The Liaoning provincial court in northeastern China announced the death sentence for Robert Lloyd Schellenberg on Monday.
Schellenberg was detained more than four years ago, went on trial in 2016 and was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in November. The Chinese media began republicizing Schellenberg’s case after Meng’s detention. Within weeks, an appeals court suddenly reversed that decision, saying the sentence was too lenient, and scheduled Monday’s retrial with just four days’ notice.
The court gave no indication that the death penalty could be commuted, but observers said Schellenberg’s fate is likely to be drawn into diplomatic negotiations over China’s demand for Meng’s release.
Trudeau suggested on Monday that China was using its judicial system to pressure Canada over the arrest of Meng, who is also the daughter of Huawei’s founder.
“All countries around the world” should be concerned that Beijing is acting arbitrarily with its justice system, Trudeau said.
“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 a death penalty,” Trudeau said.
Canada later updated its travel advisory for China, urging Canadians to “exercise a high degree of caution due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”
Hua dismissed such concerns, saying the 222 kilograms (489 pounds) of methamphetamine that Schellenberg was accused of smuggling merited the harsh penalty.
“When facing such a serious drug smuggling crime, I think any responsible government that takes resolute measures to deal with the case just reflects the responsible attitude and strong determination of the government in protecting the lives and safety of its people,” Hua said.
A Chinese man convicted of involvement in the same operation was earlier given a suspended death sentence.
Describing the case as “highly politicized,” the human rights group Amnesty International urged that Schellenberg’s sentence be revoked.
“The sudden retrial and apparent rush to judgment has highlighted the numerous flaws in China’s judicial system,” China researcher William Nee said in a statement.
Since Meng’s detention, China has arrested two Canadians in apparent retaliation. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman, were both arrested on vague national security allegations. A Canadian teacher was detained but released.
Hua on Monday denied Kovrig was eligible for diplomatic immunity as Trudeau has maintained.
A senior Canadian government official said Chinese officials have been questioning Kovrig about his diplomatic work in China, which is a major reason why Trudeau is asserting diplomatic immunity. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the case, spoke on condition of anonymity.
Kovrig, a Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank, was on a leave of absence from the Canadian government at the time of his arrest last month.
Ren Zhengfei, Meng’s father and Huawei’s founder, told foreign reporters on Tuesday that he doesn’t believe the death sentence and arrests of the Canadians are related to Meng’s detention.
“Personally, I don’t see a connection between these cases and Meng Wanzhou,” he said.
Canada has embarked on a campaign with allies to win the release of Kovrig and Spavor. The United States, Britain, European Union and Australia have issued statements in support. Trudeau called U.S. President Donald Trump about their case last week and the White House called the arrests “unlawful.”
Last week, Poland arrested a Huawei director and one of its own former cybersecurity experts and charged them with spying for China. The move came amid a U.S. campaign to exert pressure on its allies not to use Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of telecommunications network equipment, over data security concerns.
Source: The Associated Press, January 15, 2018
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
