Briton executed despite appeals for clemency

? China brushed aside international appeals today and executed a British man convicted of drug smuggling who relatives said was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into the crime.

Britain’s prime minister condemned the execution — China’s first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years.

“I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted. I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

The press office of the Xinjiang region where Shaikh had been held confirmed the execution in a faxed statement.