Australian actor Karm Gilespie faces immediate execution in China if his appeal fails
A friend of former Blue Heelers actor Karm Gilespie, who is facing death by firing squad in China over drugs charges, claims he’s being used as a “pawn” as he appeals the decision.
Exclusive: The childhood friend of a former Blue Heelers actor on death row in China has claimed 7.5kg of methamphetamine was planted in his check-in luggage, and the communist government is using him as a “pawn”.
Jill Parris had been friends with Victorian actor turned wealth manager Karm Gilespie, 61, for more than 30 years by the time he was detained in the Chinese city of Guangzhou in 2013 while trying to board an international flight.
He was sentenced to death in Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court in 2020 and quickly appealed the sentence, but the verdict has not been released.
If the death sentence is upheld, Gilespie will face immediate execution by firing squad or lethal injection.
Ms Parris, who is from the US, told this masthead she is “broken hearted” over the situation.
“It seems he was set up,” she said.
“He was not into drugs or alcohol. He was spiritual, that’s why he’s still alive today.”
Ms Parris described Gilespie as “strong-willed”, and doesn’t understand why the Chinese government won’t let her write to him.
“They keep him alive as a pawn,” she said.
“He is a wholesome person.”
Jin Ling, a Chinese criminal lawyer who specialises in foreign citizen cases, told this masthead that death sentences are reviewed by a judge following an appeal – but the penalties are rarely altered.
“There is usually a death penalty review after the appeal verdict involving the Supreme People’s Court conducting a special review and approval process for cases sentenced to death,” she said.
“Judges reviewing the death penalty are very cautious, especially when involving foreign citizens – the result will rarely be different.”
If Gilespie’s death penalty is not repealed, he will be executed immediately.
Ms Ling said the pandemic may have caused delays with the verdict, but it’s also possible that a verdict hasn’t yet been reached, or the death sentence is still under review.
Only three parties will be notified about any outcome – Gilespie’s lawyers, his immediate relatives, and the Australian consulate.
Ms Ling said Gilespie is in the same prison as Australian-New Zealand citizen Peter Gardner, now 35, who was arrested at the same airport in 2014 with his then-girlfriend, Kalynda Davis, and charged with allegedly trafficking 30kg of methamphetamine.
The drugs, which had a street value of $40m, were allegedly found in two pieces of luggage sealed shut with superglue.
Davis, the daughter of a retired NSW policeman, was later released without charge following intervention by then-Foreign Affairs minister Julie Bishop. She now shares a home in Queensland with her tradesman boyfriend and their two children.
Gardner was found guilty and has been waiting to face the firing squad ever since.
Li Jue, a criminal lawyer in China, said Gilespie and Gardner share the same detention conditions as Chinese prisoners, but “they probably enjoy better meals compared to their cellmates”.
Chinese prison cells typically accommodate 12 to 16 inmates, with a minimum floor space of five square meters per prisoner.
A staff member from the Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou said they would not release any information about the Australian prisoners without approval from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We visit them on a regular basis and forward all the updates we get back to the DFAT in Australia,” they said.
A third Australian on death row in China is novelist Yang Hengjun, who travelled to Guangzhou in January 2019 with his wife and her child, both Chinese citizens, when he was intercepted by border forces at a Beijing airport.
Dr Hengjun was charged with espionage and handed a suspended death sentence in 2024. He is being held in solitary confinement, as is customary in China for accused spies.
A spokesperson for DFAT said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to three Australians detained in China.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”
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Originally published as Australian actor Karm Gilespie faces immediate execution in China if his appeal fails
