Relatives of British man condemned to death in China plead for his life in last-minute visit

Relatives plead for British man condemned in China

URUMQI, China — Relatives of a British man with possible mental problems who faces execution Tuesday in China are making a last-minute visit to plead for mercy.

Fifty-three-year-old Akmal Shaikh is scheduled to die for drug trafficking. He will be the first citizen of a European country to be executed in China in half a century.

Two of Shaikh’s cousins say they visited him Monday and told him that he will be executed. China had not told him.

One of the cousins said Shaikh was “obviously very upset.”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has asked China to spare Shaikh, echoing concerns that he has mental problems.

China says Shaikh’s case has been handled according to law. It rarely grants last-minute reprieves.