(중국) 60년만의 유럽인 처형
(중국) 60년만의 유럽인 처형
Time is running out fast for a British man in China. Relatives of Akmal Sheikh have made one last-ditch필사적인 plea청원 for mercy자비. He is scheduled to die Tuesday morning on a drug smuggling conviction. His supporters say China is ignoring evidence that he is in fact mentally ill. An 11th hour plea for life right here outside the Chinese embassy in London. Akmal Sheikh is a British man. He is a father of three. And he is scheduled to be executed in China for drug smuggling.
His family is heartbroken. They’re pleading청원 with the Chinese government for mercy and clemency관대. Seema and Latif, for his cousins. Seema? He’s just been informed that he will be executed. How did he react from what you’ve been able to find out? “Um….obviously as a family member, I’m devastated to hear this news. I’m just praying for him and hoping that the Chinese government would show some compassion연민 in this particular case as Akmal is very unwell.”
The Chinese government haven’t been known to give 11th hour clemencies in the past. Do you have hope, Latif? “We can’t lose hope. If we lose hope, we have to put ourselves in the position of Akmal. He is in a far worse situation than ourselves. We cannot and we will not lose hope at all.” How is his family dealing with something so catastrophic like this, his mother, his children? “Well, his mother has not been informed of the seriousness of the situation. She only knows that he is in custody. We don’t feel that he can take the news. So we’re keeping the news from his mother. The rest of the family are devastated. But we’re trying to hold together. And we’re all praying for him.”
You’ve said and been arguing to the Chinese government that he is mentally ill and he needs help?
What have they objected to? “They have basically objected to any outside involvement and this is what we are asking them to do, to allow our British psychologists, British lawyers to have a look even if it’s for once, even if it’s a very short amount of time, but at least allow him some access to our specialists.”
If the execution goes ahead, he would be the first European citizen to be executed in China in about 50 years. The Chinese government is saying that they have handled that by the law and they rejected the plea made from the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to spare his life. Zane Bersey, CNN, London.