A FORMER taxi firm manager from Kentish Town who has mental health problems is facing the death sentence in China. Akmal Shaikh was arrested in September 2007 in Urumqi, north-west China, and sentenced last November to death by firing squad after he was c
A FORMER taxi firm manager from Kentish Town who has mental health problems is facing the death sentence in China.
Akmal Shaikh was arrested in September 2007 in Urumqi, north-west China, and sentenced last November to death by firing squad after he was convicted of smuggling 4kg of heroin.
His appeal will be heard by the district court in the region. If it fails, he has one last chance, at the People's Supreme Court, before the sentence is carried out.
Campaign group Reprieve has called on the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to intervene and ensure a mental health expert sees Mr Shaikh to prove the seriousness of his illness to the Chinese courts.
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