A Frenchman sentenced to death in China in 2010 for drug trafficking has been executed, France’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday, expressing its “concern”.
Chan Thao Phoumy, a 62-year-old Frenchman born in Laos, was executed, “despite the efforts of the French authorities, including efforts to obtain a pardon on humanitarian grounds for our compatriot,” a ministry statement said.
His defense team did not have access to the final court hearing, in violation of his rights, the ministry added. The sentence was carried out in Guangzhou in the south of the country.
The ministry reaffirmed France’s opposition to the death penalty “anywhere and in any circumstances” and called for its “universal abolition”.
