Australia plays down role of China tensions in Karm Gilespie death sentence

Name: China says bilateral relations not related to death penalty sentence for Australian in drugs case
Uploaded: 2020-06-15T10:15:09.000Z
Duration: 49 s
Description: China says bilateral relations not related to death penalty sentence for Australian in drugs case

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says ‘we need to be very careful’ about connecting the case to the countries’ strained relations

Gilespie, 55, was handed the penalty for drug smuggling by a Chinese court last week, seven years after he was arrested in Guangzhou

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Karm Gilespie, a financial investor and former actor, was sentenced to death by a Guangzhou court last week. Photo: Facebook

Sarah Zheng

Published: 6:15pm, 15 Jun 2020Updated: 10:21am, 16 Jun 2020

Canberra has played down the role of its fraught relations with Beijing in a Chinese court’s decision to sentence an Australian citizen to death for drug trafficking, as bilateral ties sink to their lowest point in decades.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack on Monday said caution should be exercised in connecting Karm Gilespie’s case to friction between the governments.

“I think we need to be very careful about making such links, I think we need to be very careful in our language, both in government and indeed in the media, about this particular case because Mr Gilespie’s life is worth more than that,” McCormack told the Australian broadcaster ABC.

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China says bilateral relations not related to death penalty sentence for Australian in drugs case

Gilespie, a 55-year-old financial investor and former actor, was handed the death penalty by a Guangzhou court on Wednesday, seven years after he was arrested at a Guangzhou airport for allegedly carrying 7.5kg of methamphetamine in his luggage.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said caution should be exercised in connecting the case to the tense relationship with China. Photo: Getty Images

His sentencing comes amid rising tensions between China and Australia, with Beijing issuing warnings against travel to or study in Australia, in what has been seen as retaliation for Canberra’s leading role in pushing for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus in China. Beijing has also restricted imports of Australian beef and barley.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters on Monday that the ruling for Gilespie was made by the local Chinese court in accordance with the law, and that Australia should respect China’s judicial sovereignty.

“This case has nothing to do with the bilateral relationship,” he said.