China: Death-sentence Briton 'had fair trial'

A British man sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling received a fair trial, officials said today.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the case of Akmal Shaikh was a serious one and that his “rights have been fully guaranteed”.

The UK Foreign Office said yesterday that Chinese authorities had told it they plan to execute Shaikh on December 29. Supporters of the 53-year-old say he has mental health problems and was duped into carrying drugs into China.

Shaikh, a small business owner from north London, was sentenced to death in October 2008 after he was convicted of taking a suitcase containing almost 4kg of heroin into the far western Chinese city of Urumqi.