China to execute more African drug dealers
Published: 06 June, 2009, 00:37
Edited: 31 May, 2010, 18:10
TAGS: Crime, Africa, Asia, Human rights, Drugs
Africans are learning the hard way that in China the consequences for drug smuggling are more grave than a stained criminal record or a long sentence behind bars. Drug smugglers face a life penalty, but not in prison.
Despite increasing diplomatic relations on the continent, when it comes to sentencing African nationals for drug offenses, China is showing no mercy. Those convicted are being sentenced to death.
On April 23, Chibuzor Ezekwem, a Nigerian national, was executed for trafficking hard drugs.
In mid-May, a 38-year-old Zambian businesswoman was convicted of smuggling 2.5 kilograms of heroin.
“She will be put to death by a firing squad…” confirmed John Nyawali, Public Relations Officer for Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission.
Now, only weeks later, China has sentenced five Kenyans, aged 25-57, to die for drug trafficking.
Officials in both Zambia and Kenya have pledged to work to save the lives of those on death row.
Zambia’s government spokesperson, Ronnie Shikapwasha said, “The embassy in China has been alerted to the case and is following it up.”
However, he noted that all Zambia can do is try to get the sentence reduced from death to life behind bars, hopefully to be served in Zambia.
After the government was criticized for failure to support its citizens, Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Moses Wetangula, also announced the country’s intentions to negotiate.
“I intend to visit China to see how we can commute the death sentences to life [imprisonment] and see how we can exchange prisoners so that they can serve their sentences in Kenya,” he said.
But government involvement proved useless in the case of Mr. Ezekwem. “The Mission's plea for mitigation of the death sentence was rejected and the death sentence passed on him was, sadly, eventually carried out in accordance with the Laws of the People's Republic of China”, said a statement released by the Director of Public Communications Division at Nigeria’s Embassy in China.
China does not release statistics of the number of people it executes each year, so the total number of Africans killed for drug trafficking is unknown. The problem of statistics is also exacerbated by the fact that many Africans travel abroad with fake documents and therefore they do not register with their embassies.
It is, however, known that most of those currently on death row for drug trafficking are due to be executed by firing squad, which means they will be shot in the back of the head at close range with a hollow tipped bullet.
Michelle Smith for RT
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2 comments
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make an example of them. the chinese are right to shoot these people. if they were to be sent back to serve their sentences they woudl be laughing and encouraging others to smuggle more drugs...
Listen you animals where is the death penalty for the chinese drug dealers in the USA and human traffickers who are worse than drug dealers who just give people like me what we want.. for every man executed there are 10 ready to take their place. China should focus on its human rights issues and chill with killing peolpe for their organs to fuel the black market which we all know they do.. funny how the article said African as if it makes a difference, Europeans are the MASTERS of drug dealing and make drugs that they cant live without like alcohol LEGAL spare me the bs thatit was right etc.. this pointless war on drugs started less than a century ago for "drugs" people have been using for 5000 years.. if there was no demand there would beno dealers thriving off it.. so get off your high horses and look around you meth labs and the other designer drugs kiling our youth here in the US are not pushed by Africans to the other ignorant poster who made dumb comments. Also it isnt Africans who tried to hook the population on drugs 150 yrs ago so to compare today's independent pusher to England a whole country that tried to devastate China is ridiculous
What is Jasper and the suppporters talking of? all these Africans have potential of making money in thier own nations... there is a lot to be done, though they want fast money! who is to blame? i support China for doing this.. all the other countries are domant with no balls.. always talking of humanity? what is humanity.. consider too that we are too many on this earth and soon we will have no food.. if you want to save every mankind and continue reproducing.. think again.