Schellenberg smuggling incident

The Schellenberg smuggling incident is a case in China, which Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was convicted and sentenced to capital punishment on charges of smuggling drugs in China, which Canada "condemned in the strongest possible terms". According to the prosecutors for the state, Schellenberg attempted to smuggle methamphetamine with a net weight of just over 222 kg (489 lb) from Dalian to Australia in November 2014; after discovering that his translator had informed the police, he reportedly boarded a plane at Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport with the intention of fleeing to Thailand. Schellenberg was arrested by Chinese police, when the plane had a stopover at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Schellenberg argued that he was framed by drug dealer Xu Qing and that he was an innocent tourist. On November 20, 2018, the Dalian Intermediate People's Court sentenced Schellenberg to 15 years in prison for drug smuggling, confiscation of 150,000 yuan in personal property, as well as deportation. Schellenberg appealed the verdict. The following December 29, the Liaoning Provincial High People's Court retried him. During the trial, the state prosecutor claimed Schellenberg was an accessory criminal. At the retrial, it was claimed he played an "important role". Despite the crime not succeeding, a light punishment was rejected. The High Court of Liaoning Province ruled in court to send the case back to Dalian Intermediate People's Court for retrial. On January 14, 2019, the Dalian Intermediate People's Court opened a retrial to review the case, sentencing Schellenberg to death and confiscation of all property. After the retrial, Schellenberg's defense team stated that it would appeal. The Schellenberg case has caused controversy in law and diplomacy. Chinese law stipulates that if the defendant appealed and the retrial court returned the case for review, the original trial court shall not increase the criminal's...