China’s Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Schellenberg, who was accused of drug smuggling, a Canadian official told CBC News.
The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The New York Times first reported the news.
Schellenberg was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2018 after being found guilty of participating in an international drug trafficking ring.
But he was retried and sentenced to death in 2019, about a month after Canadian authorities detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. warrant
A spokesman for Global Affairs Canada said the government was “aware” of the decision on Schellenberg’s case but declined to comment on the specifics.
“Canada advocates for clemency in this case, as it does for all Canadians sentenced to death,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Last month, British Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Meng’s arrest has stalled relations between Canada and China for years.
Shortly after Meng’s arrest, Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained by Beijing on vague national security charges, although both were released in 2021.
Four Canadians were also executed in China last year on drug-related charges.
British Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China last month to try to rebuild relations with Beijing.
Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement to remove certain trade barriers at a meeting last month.
Schellenberg is accused of conspiring with others to smuggle 222 kilograms of methamphetamine from China into Australia in 2014. Despite his claims of innocence, the British Columbia native has a record of drug-related offenses in Canada, including a two-year sentence for drug trafficking in 2012.
