BBC News
29 December 2009

The Chinese ambassador Fu Ying has been summoned to the Foreign Office amid a growing row between the UK and China over the execution of a British man.

Akmal Shaikh, 53, a father-of-three from London, was executed in China after being convicted of drug smuggling despite claims he was mentally ill.

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis told the ambassador “China had failed in its basic human rights responsibilities”.

The Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh had no previous record of mental illness.

Mr Lewis said after the meeting: “I had a difficult conversation with the Chinese Ambassador today.

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis: ‘Mr Shaikh had mental health problems’

“I made clear that the execution of Mr Shaikh was totally unacceptable and that China had failed in its basic human rights responsibilities in this case, in particular that China’s court had not considered the representations made about Mr Shaikh’s mental condition.

“It is an important element of a mature bilateral relationship that we are able to speak frankly about issues on which we disagree and that those concerns are heard.”

ANALYSIS FROM BEIJING
Chris Hogg
By Chris Hogg, BBC News

The news of Akmal Shaikh’s execution is being carried in state-run newspapers and on state-controlled websites here in China. Most of the articles focus on the comments made by the Foreign Ministry spokesman earlier on, when she said the judicial process was legal and fair.

It’s interesting to see what ordinary Chinese citizens are saying on the discussion boards. Most of these websites are state-controlled and subject to censorship but overwhelmingly the comments on those discussion sites are supportive of the Chinese government’s decision.

One says: “This is all a show by the British government. If it had really wanted to save Akmal Shaikh it would have negotiated in secret with the Chinese.” Another says: “If someone commits a crime on our territory we have the right to punish them.”

There’s very little discussion of the mental health issue on the websites and discussion boards. In terms of the discussions here in China, it doesn’t seem to be registering.

Mr Shaikh’s execution by lethal injection took place despite repeated calls from his family and the British government for clemency.

Sally Rowen, of the legal charity Reprieve, said a report from a consultant forensic psychologist had diagnosed him with bipolar disorder and delusional psychosis.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was “appalled” at the execution. However, China warned criticism of the case would harm UK-China relations.

Mr Shaikh’s cousins Soohail and Nasir Shaikh, who travelled to China to visit him in prison and make a last-minute plea for clemency, said they were “deeply saddened, stunned and disappointed” by the execution.

They said: “We are astonished at suggestions that Akmal himself should have provided evidence of his own fragile state of mind.

“We find it ludicrous that any mentally-ill person should be expected to provide this.”

His daughter Leilla Horsnell added: “I am shocked and disappointed that the execution went ahead with no regards to my dad’s mental health problems, and I struggle to understand how this is justice.”     more …