London: Prime Minister Gordon Brown has
written to the Chinese government to express his "dismay" that
a British citizen is due to be executed there and appealed for
clemency, his office said today.
Akmal Shaikh, a 53-year-old father-of-three whose
supporters say suffers from bipolar disorder, faces execution
on December 29 for drug smuggling.
He lost his final appeal yesterday in China`s Supreme
Court, his lawyers said.
"The prime minister and foreign secretary have raised
Akmal Shaikh`s case with China`s leaders on many occasions," a
spokesman for Brown`s Downing Street office said.
"Yesterday the prime minister wrote to express his dismay
that Akmal Shaikh`s sentence has been upheld by the Supreme
People`s Court.
"The prime minister has appealed to the Chinese
government to show clemency."
The news comes amid strains in ties between London and
Beijing over this month`s United Nations climate change summit
in Copenhagen, with a British minister accusing China of
"hijacking" the negotiations.
PTI
