Spavor, Kovrig freed as at least four Canadians remain on death row in China

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TORONTO –

While the release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig is a cause for celebration, many other Canadians are still being held in China.

Late Friday evening, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Spavor and Kovrig, two Canadians detained in China for espionage since December 2018, had been released and were on a return flight to Canada.

The detention of Spavor and Kovrig had been widely seen as a response to Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou under a US warrant related to the company‘s trade relations in Iran.

While China has consistently denied the cases were related in any way, earlier on Friday a B.C. judge acquitted the extradition case against Meng after U.S. Department of Justice officials reached an agreement to resolve the criminal charges against her, allowing Meng to enter into deferred proceedings. agreement to prosecute and leave Canada, under certain conditions.

While Spavor and Kovrig were released from Chinese detention after 1,019 days, there are at least four other Canadians who remain in China on death row with little information on when or if they will return home.

ROBERT SCHELLENBERG

Similar to the cases of Spavor and Kovrig, Robert Schellenberg’s arrest is widely seen as retaliation after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested for extradition to Vancouver in 2018.

Schellenberg, from Abbotsford, British Columbia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking in December 2018, just weeks after Meng’s detention.

In January 2019, Schellenberg’s sentence was increased to death and upheld on appeal in August 2021.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this death sentence against Mr. Schellenberg, we continue to ask for mercy on his behalf. Canada opposes the death penalty in all cases and it continues in this particular case, ”Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters on August 10.

XU WEIHONG

Xu Weihong was sentenced to death for drug trafficking on August 7, 2020, after allegedly gathering the ingredients and tools needed to make ketamine, according to Chinese state media.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Xu’s sentence was handled “independently, with strict adherence to Chinese law and legal procedures” and is unlikely to have any impact. on Canada-China relations.

YE JIANHUI

Ye Jianhui, a Canadian citizen, was sentenced to death in August 2020 after being convicted of manufacturing and transporting illegal drugs just one day after Xu’s sentencing.

Although details are scarce on Ye’s case, Chinese state media reported that he and a co-accused named Lu Hanchang were found with 218 kilograms of MDMA-infused white crystals in a room they were both using. .

WEI FAN

Fan Wei, a Canadian citizen, was sentenced to death in April 2019 in a multinational drug trafficking case. Fan and a Chinese citizen were the only ones among 11 people indicted at the time to have been sentenced to death.

The Canadian government asked for Fan’s clemency.

With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press

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