OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada said on Wednesday that China had executed an unspecified number of Canadian citizens earlier this year, and strongly condemned Beijing’s use of the death penalty.
“Canada repeatedly called for clemency for these individuals at the senior-most levels and remains steadfast in its opposition to the use of the death penalty in all cases, everywhere,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry gave no further details but said that Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian man sentenced to death in 2019 for drug smuggling, had not been executed.
Canada and China have had poor relations for years and earlier this month Beijing announced tariffs on over U.S. $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural and food products, retaliating against levies Ottawa slapped on Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products last year.
In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said Canada was making irresponsible remarks.
“China always imposed severe penalties on drug-related crimes and maintains a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude towards the drug problem,” it said, without confirming that any executions had taken place.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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