China to execute British drug smuggler

The Chinese Supreme People’s Court has rejected the appeal of 51-year-old Akmal Shaikh who has been sentenced to death for drug smuggling.

Shaikh was arrested in the north-western city of Urumqi in September 2007 after he was discovered to be carrying 4kg of heroin. Shaikh maintains his guilt and denies any knowledge of the drugs. In court, it was claimed that Shaikh suffered from mental illness associed with bipolar disorder but this was not enough for his appeal to be successful. His execution date has been set for the 29th of December which would make him the first EU citizen in over 50 years to be condemned to death in China.

Despite the sentencing Shaikh will continue to be the subject of ongoing political pressure from within the UK. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has repeatedly appealed to the Chinese for leniency but to no avail. His case has been taken up by human rights organisation Reprieve who has demanded that the British Prime Minister talk to his Chinese counterpart over the sentencing.

Reprieve, whose mission is to promote human rights and campaign for fair trials, expressed concerns that Shaikh was not made an example of in the political climate that followed COP15, urging Gordon Brown to talk to Premier Hu in order for a full medical assessment to be undertaken by British doctors.

The family of the convicted man have begged for leniency, arguing that his mental state when he left for China was not stable. Shaikh had originally intended to launch a career as a singer in China, despite no public background for such a profession. Previously he had attempted to establish an airline in Poland.

His family claim that he had been tricked into carrying the drugs, most likely by someone promising him work.