Mercy plea over death row Briton

Dec 27 2009

Two cousins of a Briton facing execution in China are heading to the country to make a last-ditch mercy plea.

Akmal Shaikh, 53, from Kentish Town in north London, is due to be put to death on Tuesday after being convicted of smuggling heroin.

His relatives Soohail and Nasir Shaikh are travelling to Beijing and Urumqi where he is being held and plan to meet him and also deliver pleas for clemency to Chinese president Hu Jintao.

Father-of-three Mr Shaikh was arrested in Urumqi, north-west China, in September 2007 and charged with drug smuggling.

After being convicted he lost a final appeal last week, but campaigners claim his mental illness - bipolar disorder - has not been taken into account.

In his petition, Soohail says: "We plead for his life, asking that a full mental health evaluation be conducted to assess the impact of his mental illness, and that recognition be made that he is not as culpable as those who might, under Chinese law, be eligible for the death penalty."

Akbar Shaikh, Akmal's brother, also says in a letter from the family to the Chinese president: "We plead for mercy and clemency.

"We are not asking for special treatment for Akmal because he is British, but simply as a family who are devastated at the possibility of losing our son, our brother, our father, our cousin."

Clive Stafford Smith, director of human rights charity Reprieve, helped arrange visas for the family members.

He said: "The Chinese embassy authorities were kind and opened on Boxing Day to facilitate a visa for this visit, recognising the devastating blow that this execution date has inflicted on the entire family. We very much hope that this compassionate approach continues to the point of granting Akmal a reprieve."