Friends of Karm Gilespie shocked after Chinese court sentences 'squeaky clean' Australian to death

Friends and acquaintances of an Australian man sentenced to death by a Chinese court for drug trafficking have expressed disbelief at the verdict against the "squeaky clean" and "caring" actor turned entrepreneur, who disappeared without a trace seven years ago.

Karm Gilespie was arrested after more than 7.5kg of Ice, a methamphetamine, was found in his luggage at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in December 2013, according to Chinese media reports.

Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Saturday said he had been given a death sentence in a June 10 ruling, the first public acknowledgement of Gilespie's secret detention since he suddenly dropped out of contact with friends and business partners.

Gilespie, who is now in his mid-50s, is originally from the regional town of Ballarat, outside Melbourne. He appeared in a number of episodes of Australian police drama series Blue Heelers in the mid-1990s before turning to property investment, motivational speaking and financial planning.

He had been well known in financial self-help circles, and his abrupt disappearance saw those who knew him embark on a fruitless two-year search for information on his whereabouts.

"We were looking for any signs in the press and contacting the Melbourne authorities to find out if anything had happened to him," said Gilespie's friend Roger James Hamilton, who runs entrepreneurial and motivational speaking workshops in Bali. "We just assumed that for some reason he had decided to start a new life."

Hamilton said he believed Gilespie had been framed after being told by a friend of the former actor's family that he had been asked by Chinese businesspeople to deliver gifts to associates in Australia that were secretly lined with drugs.

"All I know is the Karm I know isn't someone who would do something like this," he said. "Knowing the kind of person that Karm is " he didn't smoke, he didn't drink " it just seems so strange that it would happen to a guy like that."

Hamilton, who runs the Singapore-based Entrepreneurs Institute, described his friend as a "giving" person who was "always very supportive of others" and close to his family.

"To find out now, seven years later, all this time he has been in a Chinese prison, with no word from either government, doesn't seem right at all," Hamilton said.

Les Gordon, a former business partner, said Gilespie was "squeaky clean" and would not have knowingly been involved in trafficking drugs.

"The one thing I can tell you, Karm would never, ever have anything to do with anything illegal or anything to do with drugs," Gordon said. "That is just so out of character for him. Probably the only thing Karm is guilty of is trusting other people."

Gordon said Gilespie always tried to "bring out the best in people" and his execution "would be an absolute travesty of justice".

In a statement released through Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Monday, Gilespie's family said they were "saddened" by the news but would not comment further, and asked friends and acquaintances to avoid "speculating on his current circumstances, which we do not believe assists his case".

The Australian's sentence comes as relations between Canberra and Beijing sink to their lowest point in decades. In recent weeks, China has slapped restrictions on Australian imports of beef and barley and warned its citizens against travel or study in Australia, moves widely seen there as retaliation for Canberra's push for an independent international inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday said he was "very sad and concerned" about the case, and officials had raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts.

Canberra has not publicly drawn any link between Gilespie's case and ongoing bilateral tensions. Trade minister Simon Birmingham on Sunday said the public "shouldn't necessarily'' assume it was further retaliation, while Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack on Monday said caution should be exercised in connecting the case to friction between the governments.

Also on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters the ruling for Gilespie was made by the local court in accordance with the law, and that Australia should respect China's judicial sovereignty. "This case has nothing to do with the bilateral relationship," he said.

Foreign minister Marise Payne has defended the Australian government's previous silence, telling parliament on Monday that Gilespie had been given consular assistance and every case was dealt with differently based on consultation with diplomatic posts, family and legal representatives.

Hamilton said he and other friends of Gilespie were raising awareness about his case in the hope of getting him home.

"My hope is if we can get the word out about this and both the Australian government and the Chinese government can work something out ... that we can actually get Karm back to Australia," he said. "That's my only focus and goal here."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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