A former TV star is facing the death penalty after being caught with drugs at an airport in China.
Karm Gilespie, 61, best known for appearing in the iconic Channel Seven police drama Blue Heelers, has been behind bars since his 2013 arrest at Guangzhou’s Baiyun Airport, where more than 7.5kg of methamphetamine was found in his luggage.
The former actor-turned-financial investor was sentenced to death by the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court in 2020 after being found guilty of drug smuggling.
Gilespie launched an appeal to overturn the decision shortly afterwards.
Five years on, the outcome of his appeal is yet to be revealed and will be announced ‘at a later date,’ according to the court website.
A Chinese criminal lawyer has warned that the judge who will decide Gilespie’s fate will likely uphold the initial decision.
‘There is usually a death penalty review after the appeal verdict involving the Supreme People’s Court, conducting a special review and approval process for cases sentenced to death,’ Jin Ling told the Daily Telegraph.
‘Judges reviewing the death penalty are very cautious, especially when involving foreign citizens – the result will rarely be different.’
A former Aussie actor who has spent years languishing in a Chinese prison faces the threat of immediate execution unless his death penalty is overturned
Karm Gilespie, 61, best known for his role as Keenan Sykes in Blue Heelers, has spent more than a decade languishing behind bars in southern ChinaÂ
The Melbourne-born actor was arrested in December 2013 at Guangzhou’s Baiyun Airport after customs officials allegedly found 7.5 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside his luggageÂ
She cited several possible reasons for the delay – the Covid pandemic, a verdict is yet to be reached, or the death sentence is still under review.
Gilespie will be executed immediately by the firing squad or a lethal injection if his death sentence isn’t overturned.Â
Only Gilespie’s lawyers, immediate family, and the Australian consulate will be advised of the outcome.
Gilespie is one of three Aussies languishing behind bars on death row in China.
He’s in the same jail as Australian-New Zealand citizen Peter Gardner, now 35, who was arrested at a Chinese airport in 2014 and charged with trafficking 30kg of methamphetamine.
Australian writer Yang Hengjun also remains behind bars in solitary confinement on a suspended death sentence.
Dr Yang was first detained in 2019 over espionage charges at Guangzhou Airport, on his way to visit his sick brother.
The case against him has never been publicly disclosed and his trial was held in secret in May 2021.
A prominent Chinese criminal lawyer has warned that Gilespie’s prospects are grim.Â
An employee at the Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou told the Daily Telegraph that they visit the trio on a regular basis.
Gilespie had a recurring role as Keenan Sykes on popular 1990s drama Blue Heelers before moving into wealth and financial management, which led him to spend an increased amount of time in Asia, away from his hometown of Melbourne.
He also starred in Aussie films The Man From Snowy River and Hotel de Love, along with television drama series Janus.
At the time of Gilespie’s death sentence in 2020, friends expressed their shock at the news and told how they had been trying to find out information about his whereabouts since 2013 without luck.
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Blue Heelers star Karm Gilespie facing immediate execution in China after making major mistake