Canada asked to press China on trial of deportee by AFP (Agence France Presse)

Canada asked to press China on trial of deportee

Agence France Presse in Ottawa

(AFP) – 01 March 2012

OTTAWA — The family of a Chinese millionaire serving 15 years in prison for fraud after being deported from Canada said his trial was unfair and urged Ottawa on Thursday to take up the matter with Beijing.

Zeng Hanlin, 66, fled in 2004 to escape the charges but was deported in March last year after Canadian authorities dismissed concerns he would be tortured or executed if he returned to China.

He was tried and convicted of fraud in November over a stock scheme linked to a failed business merger and a court in the southwestern city of Chengdu in February sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

A lawyer for his family, Daniel Kingwell, said in a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, obtained by AFP, that the legal proceedings did not meet "basic standards of due process or human rights."

"We are writing you to request that the Canadian government express concern to Chinese authorities regarding the ongoing criminal proceedings against Han Lin Zeng," Kingwell wrote.

Kingwell said Zeng had been denied contact with his family, medication for diabetes, and proper legal counsel.

The case has garnered attention "as a significant precedent in the removal of fugitives to China from abroad," he added. "The world is watching Mr. Zeng's treatment by the Chinese court, and Canada's role in his removal."

Canada, which does not practice capital punishment, bans the return of prisoners to countries where they might face the death penalty. But it has recently deported several people wanted by China.

Zeng has lodged an appeal against his sentence, while his family maintains that he is "innocent" of the charges and wants the case to be heard in an open court in Beijing to ensure a fair trial.

The family cited a group of 21 Chinese law professors who claimed in a video presented at a press conference in Toronto that the "contractual dispute giving rise to (Zeng's) conviction is a civil matter only, and not a criminal matter."