An American citizen sentenced to death in China for murder has lost his appeal.
On Thursday, the US citizen sentenced to death by a Chinese court for “intentional homicide” of his former girlfriend lost his appeal.
Following an “open session” trial, the High Court of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China rejected the defendant’s appeal, US citizen Shadeed Abdulmateen, and upheld the original verdict of a court in Ningbo.
The lower court’s initial ruling stated that following a disagreement over the couple’s break-up in June 2019, the defendant arranged to meet and talk with the victim, a woman named Chen, at a bus stop in Ningbo before killing her.
The Court made the following ruling: “The High People’s Court of Zhejiang Province…found that the facts found by the Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court were clear, the evidence was true and sufficient, the conviction was accurate, the sentence was appropriate, and the trial procedure was lawful.”
The case has been sent to the Supreme People’s Court for approval, which is the final step in such cases before the sentence is carried out.
Even though it is possible, the country’s highest court rarely questions such verdicts and requests that lower courts reconsider such cases.
Amnesty International stated earlier this year in a report that it believes China executes thousands of people each year, but the exact number is a state secret.
The defendant had legal representation appointed by the court, and officials from the United States Consulate General in Shanghai were present in court to witness the verdict on Thursday.
