A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian to death for drug offences on Tuesday.
The two main accused in the case – the Canadian identified by the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, as Fan Wei, and an individual named Wu Ziping, whose nationality was not specified – were both given death sentences.
An American identified as Mark, and Mexican nationals named in court translations as Leon, Pedro, Oscar and Carrett were given suspended death sentences and jailed for life, according to an online court statement.
The prison terms of four other defendants – Zeng Xiangliang, Li Rongfu, Liao Jianming and Liu Zhimin – were not specified.
The group were found guilty of setting up a drug factory in Taishan, where they produced more than 63kg (140lb) of methamphetamine and 365.9 grams of dimethylamphetamine between July and November 2012.
The court notice said the convicted could appeal against the sentence, adding that consular officials were present during the court proceedings.
The gang were detained in late 2012 and put on trial a year later, but the court did not reach a verdict until Tuesday.
The American is believed to be Mark Swidan, who was detained on drug charges in November 2012.
Swidan, now 45 years old, is originally from Houston, Texas.
Swidan’s mother told Newsweek in 2016 that her son had been “tortured” while in prison, and had tried to take his own life.
Amnesty International researcher Doriane Lau said the two-year suspended death sentences handed to the American and Mexican nationals might not mean execution.
“Effectively, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve is usually commuted to a prison term after two years of good behaviour,” Lau said.
The Mexican embassy said it was waiting for further instructions from the Mexican foreign ministry.
The Canadian embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
The US embassy said it was aware of the case and would continue to monitor it.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and welfare of American citizens,” an embassy spokesman said.
In January, a court in Dalian, Liaoning province, sentenced Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death for drug trafficking.
The sentencing of Schellenberg came after the arrests of two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. China said the two had conspired to steal state secrets.
Critics said the arrests of Kovrig and Spavor were retaliation for the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wenzhou, which was carried out at the request of the US.
The United States regards Huawei as a national security threat and has accused it of conspiring to violate US sanctions. Meng, who is out on bail, and Huawei have denied the charges.
China executes more people than any other country in the world, according to Amnesty International, and there have been cases of foreign nationals sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
In 2009, British national Akmal Shaikh was executed after 4kg of heroin was found in his possession at an airport in Urumqi in Xinjiang.
Source: scmp.com, Keegan Elmer, April 30, 2019
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