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| Death row clemency plea to China | Death row clemency plea to China |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The brother of a British man due to be executed in China for drug smuggling has made a desperate plea for mercy. | The brother of a British man due to be executed in China for drug smuggling has made a desperate plea for mercy. |
| In a letter to the Chinese Ambassador, Akbar Shaikh said his brother's life had been destroyed by mental illness. | In a letter to the Chinese Ambassador, Akbar Shaikh said his brother's life had been destroyed by mental illness. |
| The 53-year-old from north London, who is due to be put to death on Tuesday, has denied knowledge of the 4kg of heroin found with him in 2007. | |
| The UN's expert on arbitrary executions said killing somebody who was mentally ill would be a step back for China. | The UN's expert on arbitrary executions said killing somebody who was mentally ill would be a step back for China. |
| Mr Shaikh, who is married, was arrested in September 2007 in Urumqi, in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. | |
| His family says he has bipolar disorder and travelled to China with the promise of being made into a pop star, despite having no singing experience. | |
| The charity Reprieve, which promotes human rights, said he was then duped by a criminal gang into unwittingly carrying drugs for them. | |
| They say his strange behaviour was "influenced or caused by" his mental illness. | |
| 'I beg you' | 'I beg you' |
| Akbar Shaikh said his brother, when healthy, was a kind and harmless man who was much loved by his family. | |
| Executing a mentally ill man would be a major step backwards for China and I very much hope that the government will grant clemency in this case Philip AlstonUN special rapporteur | |
| He said: "I beg you to spare his children the trauma of losing their father, and to spare me the agony of losing my brother. | He said: "I beg you to spare his children the trauma of losing their father, and to spare me the agony of losing my brother. |
| "Akmal's cousins are also horrified by the prospect of his death, so far away and without the possibility of being able to say goodbye. | "Akmal's cousins are also horrified by the prospect of his death, so far away and without the possibility of being able to say goodbye. |
| "Perhaps the most important of all is the effect this would have on my mother. She is a frail woman, and our family have not been able to break the news to her that she may lose her youngest child next week." | "Perhaps the most important of all is the effect this would have on my mother. She is a frail woman, and our family have not been able to break the news to her that she may lose her youngest child next week." |
| UN special rapporteur Philip Alston said there were "strong indications" Mr Shaikh suffered from mental illness, which the Chinese courts had failed to take into account. | |
| "Executing a mentally ill man would be a major step backwards for China and I very much hope that the government will grant clemency in this case," he said. | |
| Downing Street said the prime minister had written to China's leaders to express his dismay after Mr Shaikh's sentence was upheld by the Supreme People's Court. |