This archive report was first published on 7 August 2020.
On August 7, 2020, China's Foshan Intermediate People's Court handed down a death sentence to Canadian national Ye Jianhui for trafficking and manufacturing drugs.
According to the state-run Global Times, authorities seized over 217 kilogrammes of white crystals containing MDMA from Ye and five others in 2016.
China's foreign ministry stated that its judicial organs handle cases independently in strict accordance with the law, urging Canada to take immediate measures to correct its mistakes and improve bilateral relations.
Relations between China and Canada have deteriorated rapidly in recent years, with two Canadian nationals detained on spying charges and a former diplomat facing espionage allegations.
Canada opposes the death penalty and has expressed concerns over the increasing number of death sentences handed down in China, which Amnesty International reports as the world's top executioner.
