A British man on death row in China has been told for the first time he is due to be executed in less than 24 hours. Akmal Shaikh, from Kentish Town in north London, is set to be put to death at 10.30am (2.30am GMT) on Tuesday after he was convicted of smuggling 4kg of heroin. The Chinese have kept his fate quiet from him on "humanitarian grounds" but he has now been informed, according to the legal charity Reprieve. Relatives of the father-of-three have made a final plea for mercy, supported by letters from the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. They insist he has a mental health condition - bipolar disorder - and should not face the death penalty. Mr Shaikh's daughter, Lailla Horsnell, said his mental state is so bad she fears he will not understand what is going on. "We do know in one of the appeals he insisted on giving his own statements and he couldn't even speak properly, and what he was saying wasn't making much sense," she told the BBC. Telling him his execution is planned for Tuesday may only make things worse, she added. His cousin Seema Khan told Sky News: "I know that my cousin has been unwell for a long time... I just hope that the Chinese will take into account the conditions he is suffering from and show some clemency." She added that she lost touch with him about five years ago, about the time his condition deteriorated. Two more of the condemned man's cousins, Soohail and Nasir Shaikh, who are also from London, flew from Beijing to Urumqi in north-west China on Sunday. They joined two British embassy officials to deliver pleas to Chinese president Hu Jintao and the Chinese courts. Reprieve has said it has medical evidence that the 53-year-old was suffering from a delusion that he was going to China to record a hit single. It said once there he was duped by a criminal gang into unwittingly carrying drugs for them. Sally Rowen, the charity's legal director, revealed Mr Shaikh was told today about his scheduled execution. She said it is "entirely possible" the Chinese authorities will change their mind at the last minute. "We haven't given up hope, there is still time," she told Sky News. Mr Shaikh was arrested in Urumqi in September 2007 and charged with drug smuggling. After being convicted he lost a final appeal last week. If the sentence is carried out, it would be the first time an EU national has been executed in China for half a century. A handful of protesters lit candles at a vigil outside the Chinese embassy in central London.
^ i had 8balls view then i had your view after learnng about his illness, then i was wondering how a man with bipolar is allowed to fly to china on his own, actually how did he organise it? either way i feel sorry for the guy.
TBH, I feel sorry for him just a bit... (Maybe his wife and kids) But if you think further, the drug they try to smuggle inside or outside of China really fucks up the lives of those within the chain... If the journalist get jailed for 11 year b/c he just said China should and shouldn't do this or that This guy definitely deserve a death sentence (In the perspective of China)
He has been executed http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20091229/tuk-briton-s-execution-condemned-by-pm-6323e80.html
Not really surprised. They wouldn't want any sort of precedent that would prevent them from executing him.
For me there is some sort of sympathy for him because he was bipolar and for 4KG of heroin he got executed.. BUT does being bipolar mean you don't always know what you are doing? At the end of the day it is his moods being affected and not his decisions in smuggling this heorin... Also what people has to realise is that there is NO human rights related policy in China like we do in the Western Culture (i.e EU and the UN). Yes as I have mentioned it was only 4KG and he got executed for it whereas in UK if you get caught 4KG you might have like a year imprisonment At the end of the day like 8ball says, he brought it on himself but not everyone knows whether death sentences are carried in that country that they enter to tho As to G gor gor when you asked how he got the plane ticket to fly.. it's simple... because he can.. I'm sure someone having bipolar disorder only becomes severe when a major disruption to their routine or a shocking incidence has caused their moods to change big time... I'm not trying to say I know about this mental illness but from what I know that is how I interpret it..
Seriously... These so call "mentally ill" criminals are getting away with so many shits and is fucking up the justice system... I think China did the right thing, in a sense
yes the man is very unfortunate to suffer from bipolar disorder... hectic mood swings... probably 100 times worse than my PMS... even suicide attempts in some cases... but i don't see why that makes a valid excuse for his execution unless those heroin were his prescribed medication... like bbgirlsum said it's HIS decision to take the drugs to China after all... he knew what happens when he gets caught and he chose to risk his life for it... if u don't wanna get executed go smuggle the drugs to some other country with no death penalty... i do sympathize his wife and kids however... hope they won't follow their father's footstep...
I think Chinese law on drugs is acceptable. It should be like this too in the states to strike fear to the criminals
death penalty for smuggling drugs seems a bit harsh to me.... it wasn't like he brought in a crazy amount..... idk. he doesn't deserve to die for it though
Even if you're bipolar, that doesn't give a good excuse A lot of famous people are bipolar, and can still manage to perfectly execute a concert or movie That is such a lame excuse to be honest...really lame. I know a lot of people who are manic depressives, or even worse and they don't pull shit like this. Even if you're bipolar you still know what's right and wrong - and I'm sure he knew the laws and what he was risking. I find the sentence harsh BUT that's because I've grown up in a country that doesn't do executions. If he did something bad in someone's country, and the countries law is for them to be executed, then so be it.
^ Good. Then I guess the point has been made! They are also that strict in Thailand, not sure about Japan or Korea?
hahaa id rather smuggle drugs around places that has Human Rights... that way I know there isn't a death penalty -devil
i wouldn't bet my money on that... murder and sometimes corruption can also get u the death penalty but there're still plenty of ppl doing that...
This guy is so dead, saw this case on the news and the Chinese gov't is pissed at what the British gov't is saying about China handling it.
^ lol who wouldn't when what the British says that the Brits has done everything they could to stop it and China has ignored them blah blah blah and the Chinese's story says they have enough evidence to execute the guy... So basicly contrdicting cultural/political ideas clashing
