Briton Executed in China (Merged)

I don’t often agree with newspaper headlines but I’m inclined to agree with one I saw this morning, which was to the effect of ‘how can Britain moralise with China over its drug policy when the British people idolise a well known drug taker like **** **** (insert name of well known ‘supermodel’). The newspaper was not one of the populist redtops, either.

These are two completely different things! I have never touched drugs and don’t plan to go anywhere near them in my life. I certainly would not idolise anyone who took drugs, to an extent, because there are issues with addiction and the like. Therefore I would not treat them with contempt unless their behaviour warranted that. China’s decision to execute a British citizen who MAY have been mentally ill is a decision taken by the judiciary which the government had ample opportunity to overturn and show clemency. I believe the UK government is in its rights to plead with the Chinese authorities to show mercy. The British people may well idolise drug taking supermodels but this has nothing to do with the government, it is the British people! I believe that the drug policy of the British criminal justice system is fair enough. The government can’t really do very much about who is idolised, so unless there are statues of a well known supermodel in front of government offices then the idolisation of such people has nothing to do with the government! This was a decision taken by China despite a number of pleas by the British authorities for mercy! We would not have let him go off scot free but we would not have dealt with him in a cruel, inhumane and degrading way! The Chinese government make me sick and something should be done about those scumbags!

I don’t often agree with newspaper headlines but I’m inclined to agree with one I saw this morning, which was to the effect of ‘how can Britain moralise with China over its drug policy when the British people idolise a well known drug taker like **** **** (insert name of well known ‘supermodel’). The newspaper was not one of the populist redtops, either.

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Chaps,

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To add to what EGPH said they have the balls to condemn the UK for expressing its disappointment. It has the audacity to tell organizers in neutral countries not to praise Chinese dissidents etc.

The world has bent backwards to please the Chinese, but this will change one day. Every U.S President is not going to be an Obama and in time Europe will grow some collective balls :).

This case makes me sick. Now I am the PRC’s harshest critic politically. It is not just this but nearly everything that stinking country’s mentally ill government does is utterly repugnant. I hate that country’s government more than anything else on earth, give me Mugabe rather than those Chinese scumbags. It’s just pity that most of the Chinese people I have met here are such lovely and courteous people, they deserve better than what they have. That man should have been properly assessed by psychiatrist and their opinion taken into account, instead China just rubbished all claims of mental illness because all they wanted to do was to kill that man. The ambassador to the UK of that evil dictatorship said that he understood the strength of feeling in the UK but then chose not to take into consideration! I believe he would have been fairly dealt with in this country, after being given a mental health assessment, he would have been dealt with by our justice system. It is sad that this evil dictatorship is so militarily strong and cannot be dealt with in the same way as Herr Hitler was 70 years ago! Before I get thrown off here, long live China, it’s people and it’s brilliant culture and food!! However it’s repugnant, dictatorial and massively corrupt government can burn in the depths of hell!

I would say maybe execution was harsh if the man was really as mentally ill as was claimed by his family, But it does seem nothing was available from even his medical records to prove the illness and China did not do any further tests to prove or disprove this.

China has as far as they feel dealt with a criminal act against their country and its people.
So in the long run if you have committed a crime in a country then you need to take the punishment that country hands out, It is not for us to judge what china has done in this case really is it.

Well, I choose to live in the UK, I’m an atheist and I think our system of government stinks.

Do you have a problem with that? :p

I’ll stand in line to join you on both counts !!!

I wish the UK government would consider this when people choose to live in the UK and then attack the main rekigion, or the system of government etc.

Well, I choose to live in the UK, I’m an atheist and I think our system of government stinks.

Do you have a problem with that? :p

Who are we [the British people] to complain at state of the Chinese judicial system and express our outrage…I’m sure the Chinese have their opinions on our judicial system, but we do not see/hear them complaining about it, do we?

At the end of the day, he was caught, arrested, put on trial, found guilty and given the necessary punishment that the Chinese judicial system deems suitable to deal with the crime that was committed…can’t say fairer than that really?

As for the claim of mental illness, whilst I believe that this a factor that maybe should be considered in some cases, what would this do for all future criminal cases in any country…anyone accused of a crime could claim a mental illness of some kind, and in my opinion the cost and time of seeking whether a person is mentally sane or not would be too great and simply delay the inevitable.

“Hear hear“, go somewhere else, abide by the local laws and customs or don’t go. Without advocating capital punishment itself, you should respect local laws, customs and beliefs, I wish the UK government would consider this when people choose to live in the UK and then attack the main rekigion, or the system of government etc.

well said mate! 🙂

Put it on ‘U tube’ for all the ‘scumbags’ and excuses for humanity to see .

I take it you’d be watching then?

Regards,

kev35

If someone is too mentally unwell to understand the laws of foreign countries and the ramifications of not complying with them (whatever those ramifications might be and whatever their “excuse”), then they should have their passports taken off them and they should not be allowed to travel – allowing such people to travel is just asking for these sorts of things to happen.

Andy

Yes, I was the one who changed it. 🙂

But why should any country show leniency to foreign nationals who commit crimes? The law is the law.

“Hear hear“, go somewhere else, abide by the local laws and customs or don’t go. Without advocating capital punishment itself, you should respect local laws, customs and beliefs, I wish the UK government would consider this when people choose to live in the UK and then attack the main religion, or the system of government etc.

Sorry GA the title of the other thread was only changed now.

Yes, I was the one who changed it. 🙂

….Even Arab countries show leniancy towards foriegn nationals caught in crimes but not China.

But why should any country show leniency to foreign nationals who commit crimes? The law is the law.

Sorry GA the title of the other thread was only changed now.

It is appalling and sad, i could not help but react.

Even Arab countries show leniancy towards foriegn nationals caught in crimes but not China.

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We only need one thread on this subject, chaps.

Cheers

GA

China’s Appalling Human Right Rec. Continues – Mentally Ill Briton Executed

A British man convicted of drug smuggling in China has been executed, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

Akmal Shaikh, 53, a father-of-three, of London, had denied any wrongdoing and his family said he was mentally ill.

The execution took place despite repeated calls from his family and the British government for clemency.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was “appalled and disappointed”. But the Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh had no previous record of mental illness.

Mr Shaikh’s family made continued calls for leniency right up until the execution deadline, citing his mental state, saying that he suffered from bipolar disorder.

His daughter Leilla Horsnell said: “I am shocked and disappointed that the execution went ahead with no regards to my dad’s mental health problems, and I struggle to understand how this is justice.”

In a statement issued after the execution, the Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh’s rights “were properly respected and guaranteed” and British concerns were “duly noted and taken into consideration”.

It said: “As for his possible mental illness which has been much talked about, there apparently has been no previous medical record.”

A report from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said that China’s Supreme People’s Court had not been provided with any documentation proving that Mr Shaikh had a mental disorder.

Mr Shaikh is the first EU national to be executed in China in more than 50 years.

British diplomatic sources say it is likely he died by lethal injection.

His body will not be repatriated to the UK, and as a Muslim he will be buried within 24 hours.

They said he had been delusional and duped into a carrying a suitcase that did not belong to him when he was found with 4kg of heroin in Urumqi, north-west China, in September 2007.

His daughter has said drug smugglers in Poland convinced him they would make him a popstar in China.

‘Inadequate interpretation’

Health Secretary Andy Burnham: “This is terribly sad news”

Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis held last-ditch talks with the Chinese ambassador in London on Monday evening.

Mr Lewis said the government had made 27 representations to China in two years, and believed it had done everything it possibly could.

In a statement, Mr Brown said: “I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted.

“I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken.

“At this time our thoughts are with Mr Shaikh’s family and friends and I send them our sincere condolences.”

Foreign Secretary David Miliband also condemned the execution.

He said the UK was opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, but also “deeply regretted” that his specific concerns in this case, including “mental health issues, and inadequate professional interpretation” had been ignored.

Conservative leader David Cameron echoed the condemnation, saying he “deplored and deeply regretted” the execution.

“It is appalling that the concerns [about Mr Shaikh’s mental health] were not independently assessed during the more than two years [he] was in custody, and taken properly into account in the judicial process,” he said.

CHINA DEATH PENALTY
China executed 1,718 people in 2008, according to Amnesty International
Last year 72% of the world’s total executions took place in China, the charity estimates
It applies to 60 offences, including non-violent crimes such as tax fraud and embezzlement
Those sentenced to death are usually shot, but some provinces are introducing lethal injections

Executions shrouded in secrecy

The legal charity Reprieve had taken up Mr Shaikh’s case for the family.

Through the charity, the family issued a statement thanking all those who tried to help including Reprieve, the Foreign Office, those who attended a vigil outside the Chinese embassy in London, and the organisers of a Facebook group calling for clemency.

They asked for privacy “as they come to terms with what has happened to someone they loved”.

Katherine O’Shea, Reprieve’s communications director, said it was “devastated” Mr Shaikh had been killed.

“That such a thing can happen in this day and age is really something that should alarm all of us,” she said.

“This guy was a very vulnerable person, extremely ill. He slipped through the cracks of society, and he was frankly failed by China and by their legal system. And it’s an absolute disgrace that he should have been killed.”

In its statement, the Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh was convicted of “serious” drug trafficking.

“The amount of heroin he brought into China was 4,030g, enough to cause 26,800 deaths, threatening numerous families,” it said.

It added: “The legal structures of China and UK may be different, but it should not stand in the way of enhancing our bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect.”

BBC world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge said in the final appeal for clemency before the execution Britain had expressed the hope that its relationship with China would count for something.

“But in the event, its influence has been severely tested in this case,” he said.

I suggest Britain sell arms to Taiwan and rebuff China on other things as a response.

Drug smugglers are executed there while there is no punishment for people selling Chinese delicacies like body parts of Tigers and bears.

Down with China.

At least one country enforces its capital punishment for drug trafficking.

Guys, what do you think of this? Was this guy an innocent(stupid) mule, or did he know what he was doing?

They’re always innocent, aren’t they? :rolleyes:

I am another one who thinks that this execution should have gone ahead. If you’re going to be stupid enough to break the law, then be prepared to accept the consequences if and when caught, even if it is somewhere as harsh as China. I understand that this man had bi-polar but I doubt very much that this condition would have affected his judgement of this situation. And whilst I appreciate that cases of bi-polar vary from person to person, I myself know somebody who ‘suffers’ from it. Until it was brought to my attention, I had no idea. This person was just like any other and they knew, like everybody else, the difference between right and wrong!

Who are we to judge whether this execution was right or wrong anyway? That’s obviously the way it works in China and that’s no doubt how the country would deal with its own people. Why should a British criminal, or somebody of any other nationality, be treated any differently?

China executes British drug smuggler

Article from Nine News

China executes British drug smuggler

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says China has executed British national Akmal Shaikh, a move he condemned “in the strongest terms.”

“I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted,” Brown said in a statement on Tuesday.

“I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken.

“At this time our thoughts are with Mr Shaikh’s family and friends and I send them our sincere condolences,” he said.

The British government and Shaikh’s family made last-ditch appeals on Monday to China to show clemency in his case.

Shaikh, a 53-year-old father-of-three from London, suffers from bipolar disorder, according to his supporters.

He was arrested in September 2007 in Urumqi in far western China with four kilograms of heroin, but campaigners say a criminal gang exploited his mental illness to dupe him into carrying the drugs.

Shaikh has become the first national from a European Union country to be executed in China in 50 years, according to the London-based charity Reprieve, which had been providing him with legal counsel.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=988452