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.

That is used on bombers like Tu-95 and Tu-22M

They do have gunners in a turret in those aint they. And its been used in bombers for ages.

I am talking a bout a fighter having a gun on its rear with gunsight displays on an mfd to target the fighter in its six.

Eurofighter/Rafale approach would make no sense as they already got Su-35/MiG-35 ready. If they want to counter F-35 on future market, they have to go the way of shaped stealth. It’s not important whether stealth is useful or not, important is that customers believe it is useful.

There is no apparent advantage to talk about yet. The few exercise encounters involving F-22 and Eurocanards haven’t revealed anything decisive and came way too late to have any serious impact on PAK-FA design, anyway.

1. I do not think Russians are Making the PAK FA with marketing as its first priority. It will be their most expensive product and may take away the upfront cost advantage Russian weapons had over the west.

2. I am yet to hear a report of a BVR kill on an F 22 in any of these exercises, while even in WVR it outperforms the Euro Canards to the point where the Rafale guys saying ‘We only lost once to F-22 Yay” is considered a compliment to the Rafale.

Wrong. They are in need to replace their designs from the 70s/80s after 30 years in service at first.

OK lets say you are right, but there are far easier ways of replacing an existing conventional design rather than going the way of shaped stealth.

They could have gone for the Eurofighter/Rafale approach.

The reason that they are taking more of a gamble is because their design bureaus governments and military see the advantage the F 22 has over their current designs and other semi-stealth European ones.

I think there were no Indian AF markings when the Phalcons were in Israel.

I always wondered why a fighter cannot have a cannon at its rear facing an enemy on its six ‘o clock and targeted using a camera at the rear and an MFD.

This is the Python five video Vikas was talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWG2PkwKiaQ