British businessman executed for drug offences in China
Akmal Shaikh
Born
(1956-04-05)5 April 1956[1]
Pakistan
Died
29 December 2009(2009-12-29) (aged 53)[2]
Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China[3]
Cause of death
Execution by lethal injection[4]
Nationality
British
Citizenship
British
Occupation
Former estate agent/mini-cab businessman
Criminal status
Executed[2]
Children
5
Conviction(s)
Drug trafficking
Criminal charge
Drug trafficking
Penalty
Death
Akmal Shaikh (5 April 1956 – 29 December 2009) was a Pakistani-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]
^"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.
^ abcTopping, Alexandra; Watt, Nicholas; Watts, Jonathan (29 December 2009). "Fury as China executes British drug smuggler". The Guardian. London.
^"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.
^Cite error: The named reference injection was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"China execution: International reaction". British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 December 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
^Cite error: The named reference sinan-11jan10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference unaware1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference xinhua_29dec was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"China Executes British National, Prompting Condemnation". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
^Watts, Jonathan (28 December 2009). "Capital punishment in China". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
^"Lau Fat-wai já foi executado". Jornal Ponto Final. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
^Coonan, Clifford; Morris, Nigel (30 December 2009), Insults fly as UK hits out at China execution, The Independent
^Cite error: The named reference scots5944640 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference BBC reaction was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference guard20091229 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference OpWar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Xin12723678 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
AkmalShaikh (5 April 1956 – 29 December 2009) was a Pakistani-British businessman who was convicted and executed in China for illegally trafficking approximately...
actor AkmalShaikh (1956–2009), British-Pakistani businessman Akmal Shaukat (born 1986), British artist, art director, and magazine editor Akmal Shorakhmedov...
similar to above Macau half of Hengqin Border Crossing, adjacent to above AkmalShaikh Antarctic Treaty System Basilica Major British Supreme Court for China...
crimes being applied to foreign nationals. In 2009, the British national AkmalShaikh was executed for drug trafficking. The then UK Prime Minister Gordon...
(2005), drug trafficking Abdul Kahar Othman (2022), drug trafficking AkmalShaikh (2009), drug trafficking Kalwant Singh (2022), drug trafficking Myuran...
philanthropist. Cash Haleem – United Kingdom British-Anglo-Pakistani businessman. AkmalShaikh – originally the owner of the taxi company "teksi", he was later sentenced...
Ahmed Ali Butt Ahmed Butt Ahmed Jahanzeb Ahsan Khan Aijaz Aslam Ajab Gul Akmal Khan Alamzeb Mujahid Albela Ali Abbas Ali Haider Ali Ejaz Ali Rehman Khan...
player (Otago, national team), injuries sustained in a jetboat accident. AkmalShaikh, 53, Pakistani-born British drug trafficker, executed by lethal injection...
Murder (3 counts) Tommy Lynn Sells 1964 2014 49 American Texas Murder AkmalShaikh 1956 2009 53 British China Drug trafficking Michael Eugene Sharp 1954...
National General Secretary Riyaz khan National Secretary, Domariaganj Mohd Akmal State Official Lucknow Azlal Khan, General Secretary, Maharashtra Dr. Jahangir...
poor alike. Many of his disciples achieved spiritual height, including Shaikh Nasiruddin Chirag Delhavi, and Amir Khusro, noted scholar/singer, and the...
televised election debates ahead of the 2010 general election. 29 December – AkmalShaikh becomes the first EU native to be executed in China in 50 years. Gordon...
Twelver school of Shia Islam. He was known as the "sheikh of the sect (shaikh al-ta'ifah)", author of two of the four main Shi'i books of hadith, Tahdhib...
first official cricket captain Abdul Qadir Abdul Razzaq Abid Ali Adnan Akmal Ahmed Shehzad Ali Naqvi Anam Amin Asif Masood Ata-ur-Rehman Azhar Ali Babar...
passes on... Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine by Shahid Akmal, The Muslim News, 7 September 2006 "الشيخ أحمد ديدات رائد دعوة النصارى إلى...
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in November 1920 and was appointed its president. The Shaikh-Ul-Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan Medical College is named in his memory. In...
in 2009. Despite requests from the British government for clemency, AkmalShaikh, a British national, is executed in the People's Republic of China for...
Bharat Vyas solo Bandish "Ajab Hai Ye Duniyaa Ajab Zindgi Hai" Usha Khanna Akmal Hyderabadi solo "Aaja Tu Idhar Aa Aa Tu Idhar Aa" "Teri Aayi Hai Barat"...
Hasan Manto Zafar Ali Khan Ashfaq Ahmed Anwar Masood Muhammad Saleh Kamboh Shaikh Inayat Allah Kamboh Abdul Hamid Lahori Anwar Pervez, founder of Bestway...
Entertainment. The serial stars Sanam Chaudhry, Aiman Khan and Shahzad Shaikh in lead roles. The serial is about the betrayal disguised in friendship...
ad-Din (1258–1357) Ala al-Haq (1301–1384) Jahaniyan Jahangasht (1308–1384) Akmal al-Din al-Babarti (d. 1384) Al-Taftazani (1322–1390) Ibn Abi al-Izz (1331–1390)...
Sallu Ahsan Raza Firdousi as Ittefaq Ul Haq Faiza Saleem as Marjan Ramsha Akmal as Sheen Waseem Hassan Sheikh as Mr. Excuse Me Akhlaque Mahesar as Waderay...
with bomb suspect set to be PM". The Times. Retrieved 6 March 2022. Dawi, Akmal (28 March 2023). "Unseen Taliban Leader Wields Godlike Powers in Afghanistan"...