Horror as China executes 4 Canadians over 'drug crimes' in 'inhumane' killing after 'refusing to recognise citizenship'

03/20/2025 07:40 AM

CHINA executed four Canadian citizens on drugs smuggling charges earlier this year, and strongly condemned Beijing’s use of the death penalty.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly revealed that all four had been dual citizens, adding that Ottawa would ask for leniency for other Canadians facing the same horrific fate.

She said: “There are four Canadians that have been executed and therefore we are strongly condemning what happened.”

Joly added that all four had been convicted on drug charges.

Separately, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said that Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian man sentenced to death in 2019 for drug smuggling, had not been executed.

Canada-China ties have been icy since 2018 when Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer of Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, was detained in Vancouver at Washington’s request.

China arrested two Canadians shortly afterwards.

Meng and the Canadian duo were released in 2021.

China said on Thursday it acted “in accordance with the law” despite condemnation from Canada over the execution of four Canadian citizens in recent weeks.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday that China had executed four Canadian citizens in recent weeks, defying pleas from Ottawa for leniency.

“We strongly condemn the executions that did happen against Canadians in China,” Joly said.

She said she was unable to discuss details of the case due to privacy requests from the affected families.

However, Beijing suggested on Thursday the Canadians had been convicted over narcotics offences, saying “combating drug crimes is the common responsibility of all countries”.

“China is a country under the rule of law,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Beijing, she said, “treats defendants of different nationalities equally without discrimination” and “handles cases fairly in strict accordance with the law”.

China “protects the legitimate rights of the parties concerned as well as the consular rights of the Canadian side, in accordance with the law”, Mao said.

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