Abdulmateen, who was identified only as Chen in 2019, met the victim and began a relationship. Abdulmateen arranged to meet Chen at a bus stop near Ningbo. He then stabbed her to death with a knife he brought with the intent of killing her, Xinhua stated.
According to Reuters, Abdulmateen was convicted of “premeditated revenge murder, stabbing and cutting Chen’s neck multiple times, resulting Chen’s death”, citing CCTV.
More than 20 people attended the trial, including officials from government and members of public.
Abdulmateen was provided with a defense, translation and consular services. However, the court did not provide any details about his hometown or how he arrived in China.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said that the Embassy had been made aware of the sentence, and was monitoring the situation. However, the spokesperson could not comment further because privacy laws prevent them from doing so.
China executes more prisoners per year than any other country according to human rights activists, but Westerners are rarely executed.
According to state news agency Xinhua, the most recent case involving a passport holder from a Western country is that of Akmal Sharikh. This was a British citizen who was executed for heroin trafficking in 2009.
A Chinese court imposed a death sentence on a Canadian man last year.
