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Australia Clashes with China Over Actor's Death Penalty

Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY - Authorities in Canberra have condemned a death sentence handed
   down to an Australian actor allegedly caught trafficking drugs in
   China.

   Karm Gilespie has been detained in China since 2013, when he was
   allegedly found, in the city ofGuangzhou, with several kilograms of
   methamphetamine, a synthetic drug,
   Public details of his death sentence only emerged last weekend, when it
   was confirmed he had been convicted on drug charges.

   Australian officials say the 56-year-old prisoner has had assistance
   from diplomats since he was detained. Friends of the former actor say
   he was duped by contacts in China into carrying the narcotics believing
   they were gifts. He has a week to appeal his sentence. In a statement,
   his family said it was "very saddened by the situation."

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