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| Briton told of execution timing | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A British man found guilty of drug smuggling in China has been told he will be executed on Tuesday morning. | A British man found guilty of drug smuggling in China has been told he will be executed on Tuesday morning. |
| Akmal Shaikh, from London, has reportedly been told by his family that he faces death at 1030 (0230 GMT). | |
| The 53-year-old has denied all knowledge of the 4kg of heroin found in his possession in the remote north-western city of Urumqi in 2007. | The 53-year-old has denied all knowledge of the 4kg of heroin found in his possession in the remote north-western city of Urumqi in 2007. |
| His family say he is mentally ill. His cousins told him of his fate but they told the BBC he "hasn't given up hope". | His family say he is mentally ill. His cousins told him of his fate but they told the BBC he "hasn't given up hope". |
| Mr Shaikh's cousins, Soohail and Nasir Shaikh, spent an hour and a half with him on Monday at the secure hospital in Urumqi where he is being held. They are now returning to the Chinese capital Beijing. | |
| Mr Shaikh has been detained in hospital since August, suffering from high blood pressure. | Mr Shaikh has been detained in hospital since August, suffering from high blood pressure. |
| Mr Shaikh's cousins spent more than an hour with him | Mr Shaikh's cousins spent more than an hour with him |
| Legal charity Reprieve has been working with Mr Shaikh and his family. | Legal charity Reprieve has been working with Mr Shaikh and his family. |
| Sally Rowen, legal director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "He has been told this morning that he is to be executed tomorrow morning. | Sally Rowen, legal director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "He has been told this morning that he is to be executed tomorrow morning. |
| "I do not know what his reaction was but I just know that he has been told. The Chinese authorities had always said they would tell him 24 hours ahead." | "I do not know what his reaction was but I just know that he has been told. The Chinese authorities had always said they would tell him 24 hours ahead." |
| His family and the UK government have called for clemency but Mr Shaikh's final appeal was turned down last week. | |
| The father-of-three is set to become the first EU national to be executed in China in 50 years. | |
| His family and his defence team have said Mr Shaikh suffers from bipolar disorder and did not know what he was doing. | |
| They say he was duped by a criminal gang into carrying a suitcase that did not belong to him. |