Canadian man sentenced to death in China in drug smuggling case

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s extremely concerned about a Canadian man who was sentenced to death in China.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was arrested in China back in 2014 for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs from China to Australia.

He was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2016. Last month, an appeals court agreed with prosecutors who said Schellenberg was punished too lenient and evidence suggested it was possible he played a more important role in the case.

Schellenberg’s lawyer says he has 10 days to appeal the execution sentence.

The death sentence comes after China detained two Canadians in December in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Chinese technology executive Meng Wanzhou.

Wanzhou is the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. She was detained on Dec. 1 in Vancouver at the request of the United States, raising tensions between Canada and China.