Australia voices concern over man sentenced to die in China

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister said Monday that his government is “very sad and concerned” by China's sentencing of an Australian man to death for drug trafficking, and that he had repeatedly raised with China case of 56-year-old former actor and motivational speaker.

Karm Gilespie was arrested in 2013 at Baiyun Airport in sourn Chinese city of Guangzhou on charges of attempting to board an international flight with more than 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds) of methamphetamine in his check-in lugg.

Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court anunced Saturday that Gilespie had been sentenced to death and ordered confiscation of all of his personal property.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and or Australian officials had raised his case with ir Chinese counterparts on a number of occasions.

“I and government are very sad and concerned that an Australian citizen, Mr. Karm Gilespie, has been sentenced to death in China,” Morrison told Parliament.

“We will continue to provide Mr. Gilespie with consular assistance and eng China on his case. Our thoughts are with him, his family and his loved ones,” he added.

death sentence comes as bilateral relations are under extraordinary strain over Australia’s call for an independent investigation into coronavirus pandemic, which started in China late last year.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday that sentence was unrelated to those tensions.

“Applying death penalty to drug crimes that cause extremely serious harm can help in deterring and preventing drug crimes,” Zhao said.

Australia should “earnestly respect China’s judicial sovereignty. And above-mentioned case has thing to do with bilateral relations,” he added.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has been trying without success to persuade his Chinese counterpart to accept a phone call over China’s decision to effectively end trade in Australian barley through crippling tariffs last month.

China has also banned beef exports from Australia’s largest abattoirs and warned Chinese against visiting country because of pandemic-related racism.

Gilespie is among 62 Australians in detention in China, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. Most were arrested on drug trafficking and fraud charges, Australian newspaper reported. department would t comment on what y were detained for.

Australian prisoners include Henry Chin, 40, who was sentenced to death in 2005 for attempting to send 270 grams (9.5 ounces) of methamphetamine to Australia a year earlier.

Birmingham called Gilespie's sentence “distressing,” but said it shouldn’t necessarily be linked to disputes between China and Australia.

Paul Monk, former head of China analysis for Australian Defense Department, suspected re was a link.

“He’s been in jail for seven years and only w has he been put through a Chinese-style trial and condemned to death for drug smuggling, so I think it’s hard t to see it in present context of diplomatic confrontation,” Monk told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“It’s spiteful, it’s vicious really,” he added.

Gilespie’s family asked friends t to speculate on his case.

“Our family is very saddened by situation,” family said in a statement. “We also request that friends and acquaintances of Karm refrain from speculating on his current circumstances, which we do t believe assists his case.”

Gilespie has 10 days to appeal his sentence.

Gilespie made occasional appearances as a character in popular Australian television crime drama “Blue Healers” in 1990s and toured country performing a one-man st show he wrote about Australian poet Banjo Paterson before reinventing himself as an entrepreneur and motivational speaker.

Singapore-based business coach Roger J. Hamilton said on social media that Gilespie was a former student who had been tricked into smuggling drugs in handbags that he was told were presents for partners of Chinese businessmen in Australia.