March 20 (UPI) — China has executed four Canadians, according to Ottawa’s foreign affairs minister, who condemned Beijing for not heeding their calls for leniency.
Little is known about the executions. China’s embassy in Ottawa has yet to respond to UPI’s request for comment.
Melanie Joly, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, told reporters on Parliament Hill following a cabinet meeting Wednesday that the four people executed were dual Chinese and Canadian citizens. She said their executions were related to drug charges.
“We strongly condemn the executions that did happen against Canadians in China,” she said.
Joly said she had been following the situation “very, very closely” for months and had personally asked Beijing for leniency, as had former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he was still office.
“We made sure to press on China how much we needed to make sure that, ultimately, these Canadians would be safe,” she said.
Teams in Canada and China are supporting the families of those executed, she said, adding, “We will continue to engage with China, as we’ll continue to not only strongly condemn but also ask for leniency for other Canadians that are facing similar situations.”
She would not say how many other Canadians were facing the death penalty in China, citing requests from their families to keep information private.
It was not clear when the executions occurred.
China leads the world in executions, according to Amnesty International, which believes Beijing carries out thousands every year.
In a statement Wednesday, the international human rights organization chastised Beijing for the executions and praised Ottawa for condemning China’s actions while calling on it to do more to protect its citizens abroad
“We are devastated for the families of the victims, and we hold them in our hearts as they try to process the unimaginable,” Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, said in a statement.
“Our thoughts also go to the loved ones of Canadian citizens whom China is holding on death row or whose whereabouts in the Chinese prison system are unknown. They deserve answers and justice, not the sickening worry they have been subjected to because of years of separation and uncertainty.”
The Canada-China relationship has been publicly fraught for years.
In 2018, Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, at the request of the United States, where she was wanted on a slew of charges, including money laundering.
China, seemingly in retaliation, arrested two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, on espionage charges. However, they were released in September 2021, days after Meng reached a deal with U.S. prosecutors that facilitated her return to China.
