China’s top court has overturned the death sentence for Robert Schellenberg — a Canadian accused of drug smuggling — a Canadian official tells CBC News.
The source requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The New York Times first reported the news.
Schellenberg had been found guilty of being involved in an international drug-trafficking ring and initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2018.
But he was retried and sentenced to death in 2019, roughly a month after Canadian authorities detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a warrant from the U.S.
A spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada said the government “is aware of a decision” regarding Schellenberg’s case, but declined to comment on the specifics.
“Canada has advocated for clemency in this case, as it does for all Canadians who are sentenced to the death penalty,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with President of China Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, last month. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Meng’s arrest had put relations between Canada and China on ice for several years.
Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained by Beijing on vague national security allegations shortly after Meng’s arrest — though both were released in 2021.
Four Canadians were also executed in China last year for drug-related charges.
Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to China last month in an effort to reset relations with Beijing.
Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck an agreement to remove certain trade barriers during last month’s meeting.
Schellenberg has been accused of conspiring with others to smuggle 222 kilograms of methamphetamine from China to Australia in 2014. Although he has proclaimed his innocence, the B.C. native has a history of drug-related offences in Canada, including a two-year sentence in 2012 for drug trafficking.
