China's Zhejiang High Court Rejects The Death Penalty Of A US Citizen Who Kills His Own Lover

Illustration-(Photo: ANTARA DOC)

JAKARTA - The High Court of Zhejiang Province, China, rejected an appeal sentenced to death as a United States citizen, Shaded Abdulmateen. In its verdict publicly announced on Thursday, August 25, the Zhejiang High Court upheld the decision of the first-degree court in Ningbo City. With the rejection of the appeal, the death penalty decision is just waiting for the approval of the Chinese People's Supreme Court (SPC). During the appeal hearing, the Zhejiang High Court protected Abdulmateen's litigation rights and the families of the murder victims in accordance with applicable law. Reporting from Antara, Friday, August 26, Abdulmateen was also accompanied by two legal advisers and an interpreter, while the victim's attorney also attended the trial of the verdict. More than 20 US Consulate General employees in Shanghai, several members of the Chinese People's Congress and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Assembly attended the session. Abdulmateen stabbed a 21-year-old woman surnamed Chen near a bus stop to death on June 14, 2021 night. The English lecturer at one of the universities in Ningbo is in a romantic relationship with the victim who is his own student. The two got into an argument after Chen said he wanted to end the relationship. The quarrel sparked Abdulmateen to end the life of his girlfriend, according to the court's first instance. For this case, the first-degree court in Ningbo sentenced Abdulmateen to death on April 21, 2022, on charges of premeditated murder. Abdulmateen came to China in 2013 to work. He married and has a son. However, he later divorced his wife on May 6, 2021.