BEIJING: A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian national to death on Tuesday for producing and trafficking the addictive stimulant methamphetamine, amid heightened tension between Beijing and Ottawa over the arrest of a Huawei Technologies executive.
Canadian Fan Wei was a leader in the production and trafficking scheme, the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement.
In response, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland condemned the use of the death penalty, calling it “cruel and inhumane punishment which should not be used in any country.”
“We’re very concerned by this sentence. Canada stands firmly opposed to the use of the death penalty everywhere... We are obviously particularly concerned when it is applied to Canadians,” she told reporters in Ottawa.
Canada’s foreign ministry, in a separate statement, said Canadian officials attended the verdict and sentencing for Fan, and called on China to grant him clemency.
“Global Affairs Canada has been closely following this case and has been providing consular assistance to Mr. Fan and his family since he was first detained in 2012,” it added.
Another suspect, Wu Ziping, was sentenced to death but Wu’s nationality was not given.
The court also issued judgments against nine other people, including one American and four Mexicans.
It did not specify what sentences five of the nine received, though it indicated the minimum they got was life in prison. It said the other four were jailed but did not say for how long.
Court officials could not be reached for comment.
All 11 can appeal their sentences.
Fan is the second Canadian to be sentenced to death for drug offenses in China this year, during a period of escalating tension between the two countries.
In December, Canadian police arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, at the request of US prosecutors.
US prosecutors have portrayed the company as a threat to national security and alleged it conspired to violate US sanctions. Both Meng, who is out on bail, and Huawei deny the allegations.
China recently arrested two Canadians on national security grounds.
China has also canceled Canadian agribusiness Richardson International Ltd’s registration to ship canola to China this year.
China sentences Canadian to death for drug offenses
China sentences Canadian to death for drug offenses
- China has canceled Canadian agribusiness Richardson International Ltd’s registration to ship canola to China this year
Three Afghan migrants die of cold while trying to cross into Iran
- More than 1.8 million Afghans were forced to return to Afghanistan by the Iranian authorities between January and the end of November 2025
AFGHANISTAN: Three Afghans died from exposure in freezing temperatures in the western province of Herat while trying to illegally enter Iran, a local army official said on Saturday.
“Three people who wanted to illegally cross the Iran-Afghanistan border have died because of the cold weather,” the Afghan army official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
He added that a shepherd was also found dead in the mountainous area of Kohsan from the cold.
The migrants were part of a group that attempted to cross into Iran on Wednesday and was stopped by Afghan border forces.
“Searches took place on Wednesday night, but the bodies were only found on Thursday,” the army official said.
More than 1.8 million Afghans were forced to return to Afghanistan by the Iranian authorities between January and the end of November 2025, according to the latest figures from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), which said that the majority were “forced and coerced returns.”
“These mass returns in adverse circumstances have strained Afghanistan’s already overstretched resources and services” which leads to “risks of onward and new displacement, including return movements back into Pakistan and Iran and onward,” UNHCR posted on its site dedicated to Afghanistan’s situation.
This week, Amnesty International called on countries to stop forcibly returning people to Afghanistan, citing a “real risk of serious harm for returnees.”
Hit by two major earthquakes in recent months and highly vulnerable to climate change, Afghanistan faces multiple challenges.
It is subject to international sanctions particularly due to the exclusion of women from many jobs and public places, described by the UN as “gender apartheid.”
More than 17 million people in the country are facing acute food insecurity, the UN World Food Programme said Tuesday.
