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Family appeals for life of drug smuggler in China
13 Oct 2009The family of a man facing execution for drug smuggling in China appealed today for compassion.
Akmal Shaikh was arrested at Urumqi Airport in north west China with 4kg (8.8lb) of heroin in a suitcase.
Law charity Reprieve claims Mr Shaikh, 51, from London, is mentally ill and was duped into carrying the luggage by a man from Kyrgyzstan.
Mr Shaikh's family believe he suffers from bi-polar disorder and travelled to China with the promise of being made into a pop star.
His brother, Akbar Shaikh, said: "I'd like to appeal to the Chinese authorities to show compassion towards my brother because I don't think he's clearly of sound mind."
He added: "He always had this illusion of being somebody successful.
"He always had more or less acted irrationally in his mind, the way he talked to the rest of his family. He wasn't prepared to accept any advice."
Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith said it was important that the Chinese legal system took Mr Shaikh's illness into consideration.
"They need to take into account the mental disorder of this man.
"He's in dire straits because he's about to face the very last appeal, the People's Supreme Court in China.
"After that, Chinese practice is that they take a bullet and they fire it in the back of your head," he said.
Reader views (5)
If you do not follow the law of the land, expect to be punished.
If the man was mentally ill/unstable, then why did his family/friends let him travel alone?
- Dom, london, 15/10/2009 13:51
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Not sure, but isn't it the Chinese that bill the family for the bullet too?
I don't say that to be cruel but to make the point that they drive it home in China that if you break the law there you can expect little sympathy - y'think they're going to let their people see them being soft on foreigners while being strict with the Chinese nationals? We may not agree with their laws, but we do have the option to stay away from the countries that have such laws - and sorry, but if the family are saying now that he was too vulnerable to be alone and travelling the world, then why didn't they do something about it BEFORE he went and got into trouble?
Oh, and bipolar people can be criminally responsible and greedy just as much as 'normal' (whatever that is) people can be.
- Rogan, Irving, 15/10/2009 05:12
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If the person has indeed the acute form of bipolar disorder, then he has a case as I personally can vouch for the fact that with such a condition you do tend to make very stupid errors of judgement that no normal person could make. He should be taking drugs to control himself from bizarre impulses and falling victim to ruthless individuals who exploit the lack of ability to distinguish between risk factors and consequences, and even to think...
I suffer from bipolar, and I have a few psychotic episodes, and it is very scary...
without treatment it can become dangerous and lethal to oneself and others...
So the Chinese really need to factor this in...
His place is in a psychiatric clinic, not a prison, let alone a death row cell (err, that reminds of the Nazis...)
It is not always the case that this condition is necessarily hereditary, but my mother had it...
- Nabil H, London, UK, 14/10/2009 12:45
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We have drug problems in the UK, and we do very little about it.
China has a drug problem as well; they do a lot about it.
When in Rome, live under Roman Laws sounds wise to me, or stay out of Rome if you don't etc.
- Mickinlondon, london, 14/10/2009 12:19
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Insanity is always the last defence, the fact is the crime was committed and heroin is a slow killer, it affects not only the user but those around them. How about a little compassion for the orphans of those who have lost their lives because of the effects of drugs?
- John, Llandudno, Wales, 13/10/2009 20:07
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