American teacher Shadeed Abdulmateen sentenced to death for murder in China

On April 21, 2022, Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court of Zhejiang Province sentenced the American defendant Shadeed Abdulmateen to death for intentional homicide.

Shadeed Abdulmateen, 37 years old US citizen, met the victim Chen (female, 21 years old) at the beginning of 2019, falsely claimed that he was divorced and single, and gradually started a dating relationship with Chen. Since mid-to-late May 2021, Chen wanted to break up many times, but refused by Shadeed Abdulmateen. Shadeed Abdulmateen made verbal threats when Chen wants to end the relationship.

At about 20:00 on June 14, 2021, after prior contact, Shadeed Abdulmateen, carrying a folding knife, arrived at a bus stop to meet Chen. At about 21:48, Shadeed Abdulmateen stabbed and cut Chen’s neck several times with the folding knife. After Chen lost his ability to resist, he continued to stab Chen’s face several times, resulting in Chen died on the spot due to massive blood loss.

The Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court held that the defendant Shadeed Abdulmateen deliberately and illegally deprived other’s life, and his actions constituted the crime of intentional homicide. Shadeed Abdulmateen premeditated revenge for murder, stabbing and cutting Chen’s face and neck multiple times, causing Chen’s death.

During the trial, Shadeed Abdulmateen’s has exercised the rights to defend, obtain an interpreter, consular visit, and notified the U.S. embassy and consulate in China before the trial and sentencing. More than 20 people, including deputies to the National People’s Congress, members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and people from different fields, attended the sentencing of the case.

The U.S. embassy did not respond publicly as of this writing.