Akmal Shaikh

Akmal Shaikh
Full-face portrait of a man of Indo-Pakistan ethnicity
Born(1956-04-05)5 April 1956[1]
Pakistan
Died29 December 2009(2009-12-29) (aged 53)[2]
Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China[3]
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection[4]
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipBritish
OccupationFormer estate agent/mini-cab businessman
Criminal statusExecuted[2]
Children5
Conviction(s)Drug trafficking
Criminal chargeDrug trafficking
PenaltyDeath

Akmal Shaikh (5 April 1956 – 29 December 2009) was a Pakistan born British businessman who was convicted and executed in China for illegally trafficking approximately 4kg[5] of heroin. The trial and execution attracted significant media attention in the UK, namely as Shaikh's poor mental health was taken advantage of to commit the crime.

Shaikh was born in Pakistan and moved to the United Kingdom as a child. After a couple of failed businesses, Shaikh moved to Poland with his second wife in 2005 with the dream of starting an airline, and later of becoming a pop star. He travelled from Poland to China and was arrested by Chinese customs officers at Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport on 12 September 2007 with 4 kilograms (8.818 lb) of heroin hidden in a compartment in his baggage. Shaikh's defence team pleaded ignorance of the existence of the drugs, although his lawyers said that the evidence against Shaikh was "overwhelming".[6] Reprieve, an anti-death penalty organisation, argued that Shaikh had mental illness which was exploited by criminals who tricked him into transporting the heroin on the promise of a recording contract.[7]

Shaikh, who had never been assessed by mental health experts, denied he was mentally ill. He had requested a psychiatric evaluation to prove he was sane, but the requests were refused by Chinese authorities on the grounds that PRC laws required defendants to first provide past medical records showing evidence of a mental disorder before such evaluations could be undertaken.[8] Appeals for clemency were made by his family and by British government officials. After two appeals, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence he was given at his first trial in October 2008, and Shaikh was executed by lethal injection in Ürümqi on 29 December 2009.[2] It was reported that Shaikh was the first person with citizenship of a European country to be executed in China since Antonio Riva in 1951.[9][10] Lau Fat-wai, a Portuguese citizen, also faced drug trafficking charges back in 2006, before Akmal Shaikh, but Mr. Lau's death sentence was only carried out early in 2013.[11]

Britain made 27 official representations to the Chinese government; the Chinese ambassador to London was summoned twice to meet British Foreign Office ministers, once after the execution.[12][13] Senior British politicians strongly condemned the execution, and were disappointed that clemency was not granted,[14] while human rights groups and some Western legal experts in Chinese law criticised the lack of due process; United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston said the refusal to assess Shaikh's mental health was a violation of international law.[15] The Chinese embassy in Britain said Shaikh had no "previous medical record" of mental illness and that his "rights and interests were properly respected and guaranteed". It said the Chinese stance underlined the "strong resentment" felt by its public to drug traffickers, in part based on "the bitter memory of history" – a reference to the First and Second Opium Wars.[16] Xue Jinzhan, a professor of criminal law at the East China University of Political Science and Law said the administration of the death penalty related to a country's history, culture and other conditions: "It's human nature to plead for a criminal who is from the same country or the same family, but judicial independence should be fully respected and everyone should be equal before the law."[17]

  1. ^ "New evidence emerges in the Akmal Shaikh case showing his illness; Reprieve makes new application to the Chinese authorities". Reprieve. 18 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Topping, Alexandra; Watt, Nicholas; Watts, Jonathan (29 December 2009). "Fury as China executes British drug smuggler". The Guardian. London.
  3. ^ "Akmal Shaikh: China warns Britain as row over executed Briton intensifies". The Daily Telegraph. London. 1 December 2009. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference injection was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "China execution: International reaction". British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 December 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference sinan-11jan10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference unaware1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference xinhua_29dec was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "China Executes British National, Prompting Condemnation". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  10. ^ Watts, Jonathan (28 December 2009). "Capital punishment in China". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  11. ^ "Lau Fat-wai já foi executado". Jornal Ponto Final. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  12. ^ Coonan, Clifford; Morris, Nigel (30 December 2009), Insults fly as UK hits out at China execution, The Independent
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference scots5944640 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC reaction was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference guard20091229 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference OpWar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Xin12723678 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).