The Chinese authorities have executed a mentally ill British man after convicting him of smuggling heroin. The sentence was carried out shortly after the Chinese Supreme Court confirmed the sentence.

Akmal Shaikh, a 53-year-old father of three, suffers from bipolar disorder and says he was tricked into carrying the drugs by a criminal gang. The man's family and the British government had called for clemency on the grounds of mental illness and London had raised the issue with Beijing on more than 20 occasions. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sharply condemned the execution.
 

Shaikh was carrying four kilogrammes of heroin when he was arrested in the northern city of Urumqi two years ago. According to the mental health charity Reprieve, which provided him with legal counsel, Shaikh was duped into carrying the drugs with promises of a music career in China and was delusional at the time of his arrest.