The British government has confirmed that China executed Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen, for drug smuggling. The man was considered by his family and the government to be mentally unstable but China ignored a request from Gordon Brown, British prime minister, to treat him with clemency. Official Chinese news agency Xinhua says the country’s Supreme Court reviewed and approved the death sentence, saying that the family had not provided documents showing he was mentally unstable, nor did the family have a history of mental illness. “ “There is no reason to cast doubt on Akmal Shaikh’s mental status,” the court determined. China’s criminal law mandates the death penalty for anyone carrying more than 50 grams of heroin and Shaikh was caught carrying more than 4 kg of the drug.
The British government says that it is “alarmed and deeply concerned” by the Chinese high court’s decision to execute British citizen Akmal Shaikh, age 53, accused of smuggling heroin. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s request 21 December to reprieve the man appears to have been turned down, with a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson saying at a regular news conference that he is slated to be executed. Shaikh looks likely to be the first British citizen sentenced to death in China in 50 years.
Shaikh’s family has not seen him for several years, but family members and the British government say they believe him to be suffering from untreated bipolar disorder and possibly an additional delusional disorder that explain his erratic behaviour before his arrest in Urumqi, in western China, in July 2007. He left the UK to set up an airline in Poland, although he had no money, and then left for Kyrgystan to become a pop star. He claims that he was given the suitcase with heroin by a fellow traveler. China says he has had a fair trial. He is sentenced to die 29 December.
