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China’s top court has overturned the death sentence for accused Canadian drug smuggler Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian official told CBC News.
The Supreme People’s Court struck down the lower court’s sentence on Friday. 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.
In 2021, a Chinese court in Shenyang rejected Schellenberg’s appeal of his death sentence.
“It will take some time to process this news and the ramifications for Bob’s case. In the meantime, it is obviously very encouraging to see this development. Everyone is hoping for continued good news with a re-trial,” said Anna Marie White, who provided a statement on the family’s behalf.
WATCH | Schellenberg death sentence upheld in 2021:
China upholds death sentence for Canadian prisoner Robert Schellenberg
Canadian Robert Schellenberg has been denied his appeal to get a death sentence lifted in China after being convicted of drug smuggling. A verdict in the case of Michael Spavor, a Canadian detained on suspicion of espionage, is also expected to be handed down this week.
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.
CBC News has reached out to Schellenberg’s lawyer for comment.
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.
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)
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.
