An Australian man has been sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling.
Cam Gillespie was arrested with more than 7.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage in 2013 while attempting to board an international flight from Baiyun Airport in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court also ordered that all of Gillespie’s personal property be confiscated, news agency DPA reported.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to Gillespie.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the verdict made in his case,” a DFAT spokesperson said in a statement.
“Australia opposes the death penalty, in all circumstances for all people. We support the universal abolition of the death penalty and are committed to pursuing this goal through all the avenues available to us.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment.”
China imposes the death penalty for drug smuggling, and executions are usually carried out by firing squad.
Foreigners previously executed by China for drug charges include a Japanese national in 2014, a Filipina in 2013, and a Briton in 2009.
Last year, China sentenced two Canadians to death for drug-related crimes following the arrest in Vancouver of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
Their detention was seen by some as a retaliatory move by Beijing for the proceedings against Meng.
Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, another Canadian, received the death sentence after a sudden retrial in which the court deemed his previous 15-year prison sentence too lenient.
New Zealander Peter Gardner is still awaiting sentencing after allegedly attempting to smuggle methamphetamine out of Guangzhou’s Baiyun Airport in 2014.
