Desperate plea for Briton on death row

News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
From the blogs

Disclosure: We’d never even been to a club when we made our first single

For most of us, reaching eighteen years of age opens up a new world for exploration, spontaneity and...

Top of the posts: Drunken rants, the Western Fail and misogyny pushers

The most read blogs this week, as determined by stats.

Sepp Blatter: Penalty shoot-outs must remain, they’re football’s great leveller

As England supporters, we should scorn at any such deciding factor within football. On so many occas...

Why do some men consider the street as a female meat market?

Pronouncements on sexual inequality in the UK are normally met with an eye roll by my generation. As...

Campaigners and family members were tonight pleading for the life of a Briton who is due to be executed in China after being convicted of smuggling heroin.

A candlelit vigil was being held outside the Chinese embassy in central London calling for a last-minute reprieve for 53-year-old Akmal Shaikh from Kentish Town, north London, on the grounds that he is seriously mentally ill.



Mr Shaikh, who was convicted of smuggling 4kg of heroin after being arrested in Urumqi, north west China in September 2007, is due to be executed at 10.30am tomorrow - 2.30am GMT - after losing a final appeal last week.



But campaigners and witnesses who have contacted the human rights group Reprieve have said he is mentally ill and had been suffering from delusions.



It is believed that Mr Shaikh, who was homeless in Poland, was tricked into carrying drugs by a gang in the country who had told him he could become a pop star in China.



Seema Khan, 54, Mr Shaikh's cousin, from Chigwell, Essex, who joined the vigil today said: "We hope and pray that the Chinese government will reprieve him even at the last minute.



"I grew up with Akmal and I know that he would never knowingly have become involved in something of this nature.



"He is an upright citizen who has never been in trouble with the law before."



Mr Shaikh's cousin, Latif Shaikh, 41, a lift engineer from Chigwell who is Mrs Khan's brother, said the family were "devastated" at the news that he was to be executed.



He said Mr Shaikh's mother, who is in her 80s, and lives in north London, knew he was in prison but was unaware that he faced the death penalty.



He said the shock could kill her.



"The whole family is absolutely devastated, his own mother does not know yet.



"I hope and pray that it will not come to this. This execution will take two lives without a doubt."



Reprieve said Mr Shaikh had been obsessed by recording a "bizarre" song which he believed would usher in world peace.



Two British men, Paul Newberry and Gareth Saunders, who were persuaded to help Mr Shaikh record his song in Poland, contacted the organisation following publicity about the case, and said it was clear he was mentally ill.



They said they tried to convince Mr Shaikh that the song Come Little Rabbit, was "hopeless".



Mr Newberry, a British national who lives in Poland, told Reprieve Mr Shaikh had shown them lyrics to the song written on a paper napkin and tried to convince them it would be a hit.



"For a few weeks he pestered us until finally we agreed to record it with him," he said.



"I have no idea who paid for the recording studio but I think he used his charm and persistence to persuade the owner to let him record the song."



Mr Shaikh's cousins Soohail and Nasir Shaikh, who were allowed to see him for a meeting lasting an hour-and-a-half, have delivered a petition asking for clemency to the trial judge in Urumqi.



They were due to deliver petitions for clemency to the Chinese President, Supreme People's Court, and National People's Congress in Beijing.



Mr Shaikh was informed this morning that he would be executed tomorrow as the Chinese authorities are said to have kept his fate from him up until then on "humanitarian grounds".



Soohail said: "He was obviously very upset on hearing from us of the sentence that was passed.



"We strongly feel that he's not rational and he needs medication.



"We feel a pardon would allow Akmal to get the medical assistance he needs as well as the healing love from his family."



Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith said: "While it must be torture for Akmal going through this, the last-minute nature of this evidence is an example of why there must always be last-minute clemency."



Mr Shaikh is believed to be suffering from bipolar disorder and his case has attracted support from mental health campaigners as well as those opposed to the death penalty.



Prime Minister Gordon Brown is among those who have urged the Chinese government to grant Mr Shaikh a reprieve from the death sentence.



Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis also spoke by telephone to his Chinese counterpart today to make clear Britain's "opposition" to Mr Shaikh's death sentence, the government said.



A Downing Street spokesman said: "The British Government has been doing and will continue to do everything within its power to secure a fair trial and clemency on the death penalty for Akmal Shaikh.



"The Prime Minister has intervened personally on a number of occasions: he has raised the case with Premier Wen, most recently at the Copenhagen summit; and has written several times to President Hu.



"At every level - including at ministerial level today, in a phone call from FCO minister Ivan Lewis to his Chinese counterpart - the Government has raised its concerns, made clear our opposition to the death penalty, and requested a full mental health assessment. We will remain engaged in the coming hours."



A Facebook group called Stop the Execution of Akmal Shaikh has so far attracted more than 2,802 members with members joining the vigil outside the Chinese embassy.



Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Patrick Cockburn: I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria

Patrick Cockburn

I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria
Hardeep Singh Kohli: For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love

Hardeep Singh Kohli

For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love
Christian Louboutin: 'I don't think comfort equals happiness'

Christian Louboutin interview

'I don't think comfort equals happiness'
Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Hollywood's home to the A-list celebrates 100 years of discreet luxury
Rupert Cornwell: Low-rise capital could finally reach for the sky

Rupert Cornwell: Out of America

Low-rise capital could finally reach for the sky
The secret life of the red carpet

The secret life of the red carpet

As Cannes reaches its climax with the Palme d'Or and the celebrities gather in London for the Baftas tonight, Kate Youde and Jack Dean investigate the real star of the show
It's not easy being Professor Green: The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...

It's not easy being Professor Green

The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...
Hardcore, hard-wired: How the prevalence of porn is changing our everyday lives

How porn is changing our lives

It's everywhere - from pop videos to fashion magazines to the theatrical stage.
River Phoenix: the final reel

River Phoenix: the final reel

Twenty years after the actor's death, his last film is to be released
Facebook: The shares shenanigans

Facebook: The shares shenanigans

Investors are crying foul over the huge losses they incurred when the social network site floated on the stock market last week
Up and away – how '7 Up' went global

Up and away – how '7 Up' went global

As the last episode of Britain's '56 Up' airs, the first episode of '28 Up', from the former USSR, starts. Then there's the US, Japan, Germany...
You'll soon pick this up: Tuck into Bill Granger's fresh street food

Tuck into Bill Granger's fresh street food

It provides perfect party fare for some fun in the sun...
All to play for: How is Ukraine shaping up ahead of Euro 2012?

How is Ukraine shaping up ahead of Euro 2012?

Peter Popham casts his eye over the state of the Euro 2012 co-host ahead of the tournament.
Red or not, here they come: Artists reimagine the iconic telephone booth

BT ArtBoxes: Red or not, here they come

Artists reimagine the iconic telephone booth...
The Last Word: Premier bullies devise youth system bound to end in tears

The Last Word

Premier bullies devise youth system bound to end in tears