May 09, 2019:
On Thursday, a Chinese Court was expected to hold a hearing on a Canadian man's appeal against a death sentence for drug smuggling in a case that has deepened a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Ottawa.
Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, was sentenced to death in Jan after a court deemed his previous 15-year prison sentence too lenient.
The appeal hearing comes a day after a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, appeared in court in Canada to fight a US extradition bid that triggered the diplomatic storm.
Schellenberg's case is seen as potential leverage for Meng, who was arrested on a US extradition request related to Iran sanctions violations -- a link that Beijing has repeatedly denied.
Following the Huawei executive's arrest in Dec, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, in what observers saw as retaliation.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said China had "chosen to arbitrarily" sentence Schellenberg to death and his government has pleaded for clemency. Schellenberg's appeal was expected to take place at the Dalian Intermediate People's Court in northeastern Liaoning province.
China is "a country ruled by law" and would "protect the legal rights" of Schellenberg, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Canadian officials planned to attend Thursday's hearing.
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