An American man, Matthew Fellows, who was falsely detained in a Chinese prison for a drug crime he did not commit has been released today.
The man was imprisoned for drug trafficking after he reportedly "lit a joint and passed it to four others at a party."
He was sentenced to the death penalty and had served eight months of his prison sentence. Thankfully, he was exonerated late last week.
Matthew Fellows Released in China
American student Matthew Fellows, 23, is now back in the US after his eight-month incarceration in a Chinese prison. He was falsely charged with four counts of cannabis distribution.
China has a zero-tolerance policy to what they consider drug-trafficking. Investigators learned that Matthew had been charged with lighting a joint and passing it to friends at a university function. In China, this is considered a drug trafficking offense.
According to Stephen Komorek of Conflict International, an investigative, intelligence, and security firm:
“In some places in China you can get the death penalty for as few as two counts of drug trafficking, Mr. Fellows had four, they have a zero-tolerance approach."
Victim
But it transpired that Mr. Fellows was the victim of a lie.
Komorek continued: “We discovered that there was a local interest in Mr. Fellow’s Russian girlfriend Victoria [...] Crimes were reported to the local police because of a romantic rival he was even unaware of. We quickly came to learn that the crimes Mr. Fellows was accused of, he did not commit.”
Komorek’s investigatory team were able to convince local authorities of Matthew’s innocence, and he was released on Sunday.
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Asia is Notoriously Strict
Asian countries are, notoriously, strict when it comes to cannabis. The drug is deemed as a class one substance and is equaled to heroin and cocaine in terms of seriousness. Supplying the drug often brings with it the risk of the death penalty if you are caught.
Recently, a Malaysian man was sentenced to the death penalty for supplying not-for-profit CBD oil to ailing patients. His sentence has since been reduced due to heavy protests regarding his case and a somewhat wavering sentiment towards the drug.
South Korea and Japan have warned citizens that consuming cannabis in jurisdictions where it is legal, such as Canada, could lead to incarceration when back on home soil.
However, sentiment could be changing in Thailand—notoriously the strictest anti-drug jurisdiction of all—which is discussing the legalization of medical cannabis in order to take advantage of the booming market.
Featured Image: Depositphotos/© Kagenmi
