China execution of UK national condemned

29 Dec 2009, 9:57 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Britain has condemned China's execution of one of its nationals as the affair threatens to trigger a sharp diplomatic chill between London and Beijing.

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Britain condemned China's execution of one of its nationals in the "strongest terms" on Tuesday, as the affair threatened to trigger a sharp diplomatic chill between London and Beijing.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "appalled and disappointed" that China ignored repeated appeals to show mercy on Akmal Shaikh, who was said to have suffered from a mental illness, while his legal team expressed outrage.

"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.

The 53-year-old father-of-three, suffering from bipolar disorder according to his supporters, was executed in China on Tuesday for drug smuggling despite ministerial lobbying which continued almost up to his death.

Junior foreign minister Ivan Lewis, speaking after meeting China's ambassador late on Monday, had said he hoped "that the relationship that we have with China will count for something in the end."

But hours later Shaikh was executed by lethal injection - and Lewis made clear London's anger.

"China will only be fully respected when and if they choose to join the human rights mainstream," he told BBC radio, while insisting that he was "not going to make idle threats."

But in Beijing officials remained defiant. "The Chinese judiciary has handled (the case) strictly in accordance with the law," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

"China has fully protected the defendant's litigation rights."

Asked about Brown's comments she replied: "We express our strong dissatisfaction and opposition to Britain's accusations.

"We hope the British side will face this case squarely and not create new obstacles for China-Britain relations," she added.

Britain has enormous trade and economic ties with China, and has long underlined the need to engage closely with the emerging global powerhouse despite criticism notably of its human rights record.

But its ties with Beijing have also been more complicated than many other countries', due to historical issues including the 1997 return of Hong Kong to China.

More recently Britain risked Chinese ire in September by sending junior Foreign Office minister Lewis to Tibet, where he underlined London's support for greater Tibetan autonomy.

Then at this month's Copenhagen climate summit environment minister Ed Miliband said China had led a group of countries that "hijacked" the negotiations which had at times presented "a farcical picture to the public".

The dispute over Shaikh's execution will only add to tensions.

Shaikh 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.

The Briton 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.

His family, many of whom gathered with supporters for a candlelit vigil outside the Chinese embassy in London on Monday, released a short statement expressing their sorrow.

Reprieve branded his death a "sad indictment" of China's legal system.

"China's refusal to even allow a proper medical evaluation is simply disgusting," said Reprieve's director Clive Stafford Smith.

Rights group Amnesty International also slammed China's decision to go ahead with the execution. "The actual execution is really a slap in the face of the international community," its Asia-Pacific director Roseann Rife told AFP.

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