Mentally-ill Brit faces execution in China
Akmal Shaikh is two court appearances away from being executed on charges of drug trafficking
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By Ash Gorsi. |  |
Tuesday, 13, Oct 2009 03:13
By Inthenews.co.uk staff
Family members and lawyers are asking Gordon Brown to intervene in the case of a mentally-ill Briton facing "imminent execution" in China.
Akmal Shaikh, from London, is two court appearances away from being executed on charges of drug trafficking.
Legal charity Reprieve said the 53-year-old has a long history of mental illness and probably suffers from a severe form of bipolar disease, but neither factors have been taken into account by Chinese authorities.
He has been in custody since September 2007, when he was arrested at Urumqi airport in north-western China with 4kg of heroin in a suitcase he said was not his. Mr Shaikh also denied all knowledge of the heroin itself.
His case, which the UK authorities were not informed of until months after he was sentenced to death, is due before the people's high court of Xinjiang, where if an appeal is denied it will be processed at the people's supreme court. Reprieve said Mr Shaikh would then face execution by a single bullet to the back of the head.
His brother Akbar said the 53-year-old had struggled for many years with a "serious mental illness".
"We are all very worried for Akmal's safety as we know he is unable to defend himself properly," he explained.
"He will be extremely disorientated and distressed right now. We are praying that the Chinese courts will see that he is not of sound mind, and prevent his execution."
Actor Stephen Fry, who suffers from a milder form of bipolar disease, commented: "Some death sentences are manifestly unfair. Suffering as I do from bipolar disorder, albeit in a much milder form than Akmal Shaikh, this case struck me as being very important for the world to be aware of. The basic principle.... we understand, I hope if we have an ounce of humanity, is that some people do things under delusions."
Reprieve said Mr Shaikh originally went to China convinced he was going to become a pop star having travelled from Poland, where he told his family he was setting up his own airline.
While in Poland he wrote a song with a man named Carlos which they wanted to record. Carlos told him that he knew people in the music business that could assist and Akmal was sent to Kyrgyzstan.
The people he met with there took his passport and money but Akmal figured that he would become famous so didn't really need them.
He was then asked to go to China where a man named Okole said he owned a night club at which Akmal could sing, Akmal agreed to go. En route to China, Okole and Akmal stayed in a five star hotel in Tajikistan which Akmal believed was a sign of his celebrity status.
Upon arrival Okole told Akmal he would have to travel from there to China alone as there was only one seat left on the flight. Okole gave him a bag to take with him, and said he would be on the next flight.
At this point Akmal became suspicious and looked through the bag, in the presence of Okole, but found nothing amiss. When he landed in China the police stopped him, searched his bag and arrested him on drug charges. Akmal cooperated fully with them telling them who gave him the suitcase, and why, and helped them set up a sting operation to catch the person - who naturally did not show up on the plane as promised.
Reprieve said Mr Shaikh only became involved for "delusional reasons" and that if the offence had taken place in the UK his mental health would be considered.
Sally Rowen of Reprieve explained: "For mentally ill people like Akmal Shaikh, the experience of imprisonment can be highly traumatic. So imagine the frightening effect of being imprisoned in a country where you cannot speak the language and barely understand what is happening to you.
"I am concerned about the wellbeing of Akmal Shaikh, and I hope the Chinese authorities will recognise that he is vulnerable and needs medical treatment."