‘A rigged deck of cards’: Karm Gilespie’s death sentence exposes China’s byzantine legal system

Human rights experts say plight of Australian raises concerns over whether the death penalty is being weaponised' for foreign political gain

On Saturday Chinese officials announced Australian man, Karm Gilespie, had been sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 7.5kg of methamphetamine through a Chinese airport in December 2013. It was the first time since his arrest the public learned he was detained in China.

It's almost impossible to know the processes which led to Gilespie being found guilty and sentenced to death. China's legal system is notoriously opaque, and information on executions is considered a state secret.