Sydney man facing death penalty in China
The trial for a Sydney man accused of drug smuggling in China has been fast tracked.
Peter Gardner who is facing the death penalty, has had his court appearance fast tracked by almost six months.
The 25 year-old was arrested in November and is claimed to have tried to traffic methamphetamine out of China using his checked in luggage. He was caught when customs officials at Guangzhou airport found the drugs.
While reports vary on the amount of methamphetamine Gardner is said to have hidden in the bags that were reportedly glued shut, it is thought he had between 30 – 75kg.
Traveling alongside Gardner was his Australian girlfriend, 22-year-old Kalynda Davis. Chinese authorities detained Davis who was held for a month in custody before being released without charge, News Corp reports.
Davis is reported to have met Gardner online and claimed she had no knowledge of the drugs. Her father Larry David spoke of his relief upon her release; “I knew she was so innocent. I prayed every night that the truth would come out, I prayed for the authorities, that it was dealt with in the way that it was dealt with, and our prayers were answered”.
Craig Tuck who is acting as Gardner’s solicitor and was expecting the trail in roughly six months, did not have an explanation as to why the case was brought forward to next week.
Conviction rates in China are said to be as high as 99 per cent. The country is considered by Amnesty International as one of the ‘top’ three executing nations in the world along with Iran and Iraq. Thousands of people are executed in the country each year.
Although born in New Zealand, Gardner had dual citizenship and his family in Sydney have yet to comment. The trial is expected to begin on May 7th.
