Four dual-citizen Canadians executed in China on drug-related charges

Canada condemns the execution of dual citizens in China on drug-related charges in a rare case of the country carrying out the death penalty against Westerners.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly. Picture: The Canadian Press via AP

Four Canadian nationals were executed in China on drug-related charges, according to Canadian authorities, in a rare case of the country carrying out the death penalty against Westerners.

The Canadian government rebuked Chinese authorities, saying the country carried out the executions earlier this year.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said she and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had tried to intervene to stop the executions and asked for leniency “for other Canadians that are facing a similar situation”.

The Canadians were dual citizens and faced “charges linked to criminal activities, according to China, linked to drugs,” Ms Joly said on Wednesday.

China doesn’t recognise dual citizenship and takes a tough stance on drug crimes, though it is rare for the death penalty to be used against Westerners.

Under Chinese law, the smuggling of drugs is punishable with prison – including a life sentence – and the death penalty, depending on the severity of the offence.

A spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada, the government department responsible for the country’s diplomatic and consular relations, criticised China’s policy.

“Canada strongly condemns China’s use of the death penalty, which is irreversible and inconsistent with basic human dignity,” she said.

Responding to Joly’s comments, China’s Foreign Ministry said it treated defendants of all nationalities equally.

“Canada should respect the rule of law and stop interfering in China’s judicial sovereignty,” spokesperson Mao Ning said, without providing details on the specific cases cited by Joly.

China executes more people than any other country, according to Amnesty International. While the exact number is unknown, in its last global death penalty report the charity reported China executed thousands of people in 2023.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning says Canada should respect the rule of law. Picture: AFP

In 2019, Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was sentenced to death in China after being found guilty of smuggling more than 200 kilograms of methamphetamine together with others in a high-profile case condemned by the Canadian government.

Schellenberg, from Abbotsford, British Columbia, near the U.S. border, has maintained his innocence throughout the legal process, which dates back to his arrest in 2014. He wasn’t one of the Canadians executed this year and remains imprisoned in China.

Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, condemned China’s actions.

“These shocking and inhumane executions of Canadian citizens by Chinese authorities should be a wake-up call for Canada,” she said.

“We commend Canada for its strong condemnation of China’s actions. And we urge Global Affairs Canada to keep pressuring China to respect the human rights of Canadians like Huseyin Celil and Robert Schellenberg, whose families are desperate for justice,” Nivyabandi added.

Celil, a Canadian citizen originally from China, was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 on charges of “terrorist activities” relating to his activism in support of China’s Muslim Uyghur minority, which has suffered a ruthless clampdown by Beijing.

Wall Street Journal