China executes Briton over Drugs

[7redorbs]

A British man convicted of drug smuggling in China has been executed, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

Akmal Shaikh, 53, a father-of-three, of London, had denied any wrongdoing and his family said he was mentally ill.

The execution took place despite repeated calls from his family and the British government for clemency.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "appalled and disappointed". But the Chinese Embassy said Mr Shaikh had no previous record of mental illness.

Mr Shaikh's family made continued calls for leniency right up until the execution

BBC News - British man said to be mentally ill executed in China

[Mr X]

Well my view on this is, if you do not want to be executed, don't smuggle drugs into countries with death penalties. The argument that he had a bi-polar disorder does not hold water. I know people with bi-polar, they are subject to manic depression and huge mood swings, but their moral judgement is not affected.

[PolarKnight]

Pretty sure the british have a very long history of pushing drugs in China. They are probably still pissed about Hong Kong as well

[outlander]

Feel sorry for the guys family more than the guy himself. Looks like China enforces personal responsibility to the extreme -even death. The western culture has become that of no one taking responsibility for their own actions. So you mix that (not my fault, i have mental issues) with china (china don't play that) and this news is the end result. You would think though that in such situations the UK could have reclaimed this guy under a life without parole arrangement with China?

[7redorbs]

yup, buddy, this really was a great shame indeed

I don't disagree directly with LAW or personal responsibility at all. Isn't LAW and the spirit of the law, in fact, ALL about personal responsibilities?
i.e. A mental man failed to follow his responsibilities, unsurprisingly, in fact, delusional, more so
A totally 'sane' group of democrats, failed their responsibility to themselves.

IMO, China, and TPTB, know exactly how to play on my emotions, just as well as anyone else. Sometimes I wonder if this is a pre-text for diplomacy. Or a large enough diplomatic event to propagandist the real message to Britain and the U.S from the east, and it's not a happy happy tone.

Not with Russia, not with Iran, not with Afghanistan, it hasn't always been like this. As soon as I see Palestinians and Israeli's talking - and Lebanese mixing with Egyptian and Israeli people - some sort of diplomacy, or news cast is fired up, creating mistrust and disgust, directed towards the entire country.

Rather than the small, but very large number of diplomats in China that could have done something about it.

I hate the fact that this seems like a political message. Human bodies and minds are not for communication by extinction. IMO. All that communicates to me is intolerance, the lowest of the low. The thug who will just beat up someone who looks at him the wrong way. I am never usually this upset/angry about something. This is unsusual, even for me. Perhaps propaganda really is at work.

[PolarKnight]

I hear ya buddy. It is never a good thing to extiguish a life. All life has value to someone, somewhere, even if it is only the person being executed.