Topic: Akmal Shaikh

Akmal Shaikh is a British national, born in Pakistan, who has been held in prison in the People's Republic of China under charges of drug trafficking and faces the death penalty. Opponents of his execution claim he suffers from mental illness and was tricked into carrying drugs. Shaikh is currently being held in a secure hospital in Ürümqi and he is due to be executed at 10:30 China standard time (02:30 GMT) on 29 December 2009.

Shaikh had ambitions to become a pop star and travelled widely. In Poland, he met a musician named Carlos and together they wrote a song which they hoped to record. Carlos led Shaikh to believe that he had contacts in the music industry who could help them to record the song and make Shaikh famous, and he sent Shaikh to Kyrgyzstan. A man purporting to be the owner of a nightclub in China accompanied Shaikh there, and promised him an opportunity to perform at the club. In Tajikistan, the putative nightclub owner arranged accommodation for them both in a five-star hotel, which reinforced Shaikh's impression that he was living a celebrity lifestyle.

On 12 September 2007, Akmal Shaikh flew from Dushanbe, in Tajikistan, to Ürümqi, in north west China, in order to launch his pop career.