French National Executed in China Despite Pleas for Pardon: France Condemns Death Penalty
A French national, Chan Thao Phoumy, who was sentenced to death in China in 2010 for drug trafficking, has been executed, according to an announcement by France's foreign ministry. Despite the French authorities' efforts to secure a pardon for him on humanitarian grounds, the execution was carried out. The 62-year-old Frenchman, born in Laos, was denied access to his final court hearing, violating his rights. The execution took place in Guangzhou, in the south of China. France reiterated its firm opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and called for its universal abolition.