URUMQI, China — China brushed aside international appeals Tuesday and executed by lethal injection a British drug smuggler who relatives say was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into crime.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was “appalled” at the executi
on of 53-year old Akmal Shaikh — China’s first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years. His government summoned the Chinese ambassador in London to express its anger.
China defended its hand
ling of the case, saying there had not been documentary proof Shaikh was mentally ill. Beijing also criticized Brown’s comments, but said it hoped the case would not harm bilateral relations.
The Foreign Ministry called on London not to create any “obstacles” to better ties.
Shaikh’s daughter Leilla Horsnell was quoted by the BBC and other British media outlets as saying she was “shocked and disappointed that the execution went ahead . . . .”