Canada’s PM: Chinese death sentence on Canadian man is arbitrary
(VOVWORLD) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday expressed extreme concern after a Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death for drug smuggling.
 Robert Lloyd Schellenberg at China's Liaoning High Court (Photo: AFP) |
He told reporters in Ottawa that China has chosen to begin to arbitrarily apply a death penalty.
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.
Earlier, the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court in China’s Liaoning province re-tried Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who had appealed his original 15-year prison sentence, and decided on execution, the court said in a statement. Schellenberg was told in court he had the right to appeal to Liaoning High Court within 10 days upon receiving the ruling.