Canada asks China clemency for convicted drug trafficker

MONTREAL: Canada urged Beijing on Tuesday to grant clemency to a Canadian sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

Ottawa has warned its citizens about the risk of ‘arbitrary enforcement’ of laws in China following a court’s sentencing of Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, to death on Monday, increasing a previous 15-year prison term.

“We have already spoken with China’s ambassador to Canada and requested clemency” for Schellenberg, Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters in Sainte-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

Earlier, Beijing said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made ‘irresponsible remarks’ for saying China chose to ‘arbitrarily apply’ death penalties.

Freeland recalled Canada’s long-standing opposition to capital punishment.

“We believe it is inhumane and inappropriate, and wherever the death penalty is considered with regard to a Canadian we speak out against it,” she said.

Chinese authorities detained two Canadian citizens — a former diplomat and a business consultant — on suspicion of endangering national security.

The timing and swiftness of Schellenberg’s sentence, and the inclusion of new evidence, raised suspicion among observers.

Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said China was ‘playing hostage politics.’

In response to Canada’s travel advisory on China, Beijing issued a similar response, urging its nationals to ‘travel cautiously.’

China executes one or two foreigners every year — nearly all for drug offences, according to John Kamm, director of the US-based Dui Hua Foundation rights group.