German citizen sentenced to death for double killing despite Berlin protests

A local court in Xiamen, Fujian province on Wednesday sentenced a German citizen to death for a double homicide, which is the first time that the People's Republic of China has imposed a death penalty on a German citizen.

"The execution will not be carried out soon. The verdict will be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval," a source from the Xiamen Intermediate People's Court told the Global Times on condition of anonymity.

The German foreign office on Thursday told the Global Times via telephone that the German government strongly opposes all form of capital punishment, and that it will try everything in its power to ensure that the death sentence will not be carried out.

The 36-year-old German man is reportedly from Teisendorf, the southern German state of Bavaria. He killed his ex-girlfriend from Venezuela and her new German boyfriend with a hammer and a knife on a street in Xiamen in June 2010, according to German weekly Focus Online.

Chen Liqun, the defendant's lawyer, said in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur that his client has not decided whether to file an appeal or not.

"China will not accept any judicial interference from other countries," Mo Shaoping, a renowned criminal defense lawyer and a professor with the Central University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Thursday.

He added that German government's opposition to the death penalty will not affect any judicial decision in China, unless the criminal enjoys diplomatic immunity.

To date, around 140 countries have abolished the capital punishment. Only 58, including China, Japan, Singapore and the US, retain it.

The German is not the first foreign national in China to be sentenced to death.

In 2009, a Pakistan-born man with a UK passport was sentenced to death for drug smuggling.

In 2011, three Filipinos were also executed for drug trafficking.