China grants Abbotsford’s Robert Lloyd Schellenberg clemency from death sentence
The Fraser Valley man has been held in Chinese custody since 2014 but improving relations between Canada and China have resulted in his death sentence being overturned
By J.J. Adams
Last updated 1 day ago
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An Abbotsford man will no longer be facing the death penalty in China for a 2019 drug smuggling conviction, as relations between Canada and China have been quickly thawing in the face of the U.S. trade war.
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The case involving Robert Lloyd Schellenberg had been a contentious issue between the two countries for years, but on Friday, the Supreme People’s Court — the highest level of the Chinese legal system — struck down the lower court’s sentence, according to a report from the New York Times.
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The reversal came on the heels of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Beijing for meetings with President Xi Jinping as Canada searches for a more stable trading partner as economic relations with the U.S. have deteriorated in recent years.
Schellenberg, 43, had originally been convicted as part of a drug-smuggling conspiracy to ship 222 kilograms of methamphetamine cached in plastic pellets, concealed in tires in a shipping container bound for Australia from China in 2014.
He claimed he was only a tourist, but was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. In a one-day retrial in January 2019, the sentence was increased to the death penalty, which would automatically be reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court.
That conviction came just a month after authorities in Vancouver had arrested Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, at the behest of the U.S., which had charged her with bank and wire fraud. The U.S. had also banned Huawei from the U.S., claiming it was a national security threat and portal for Chinese spying.
The arrest put relations between Canada and China into a deep freeze.
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Days after the arrest, two more Canadians — Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor — were arrested on charges of espionage. Schellenberg also had a 2021 appeal rejected.
Spavor and Korvig spent more than 1,000 days in prison before being released on Sept. 24, 2021 — the same day Meng was released from Canadian custody.
Schellenberg has remained in custody in China, but will avoid the executions that befell four other Canadians convicted of drug-related charges in China last year.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement to the NYT it was aware of Schellenberg’s reprieve, but would not provide any details.
“Canada has advocated for clemency in this case, as it does for all Canadians who are sentenced to the death penalty,” it said in a statement.
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