Canadian Citizen To Stand Trial For Drug Trafficking In China - Court

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th December, 2018) The high court of China's northeastern Liaoning province will consider a case of a Canadian national, suspected of smuggling drugs into the Asian country, on Saturday, the court said on Thursday amid tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.

The court said that the defendant, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, had previously been found guilty of drug trafficking but had challenged the ruling.

Canadian-Chinese relations have worsened after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese high-tech giant Huawei, in Vancouver earlier in December at the request of the US authorities on suspicions of violating Washington's Iran sanctions. The move was slammed by Beijing which called on Ottawa to release the official.

Moreover, Chinese authorities detained ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor on charges of threatening national security.