China Executes French Citizen, levels Grave Allegations; Triggers protest by France

Beijing: China confirmed on Sunday that a French national, who had been sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of drug trafficking, has been executed. China stated that it does not discriminate against defendants based on their nationality. This statement came just one day after Paris criticized the court's conduct in this case.

Are There Allegations of Rights Violations?

The Chinese Embassy in France issued a brief statement regarding the execution of 62-year-old Chan Thao Phoumi. Chan had spent 20 years in prison. On Saturday, the French Foreign Ministry expressed particular regret that Chan's defense team was not permitted to attend the final court hearing—an exclusion it deemed a violation of his rights.

China, one of the countries in the world that most strictly enforces laws against drug trafficking, has occasionally sentenced foreign nationals to death for being found guilty of trafficking large quantities of narcotics across its borders; however, it does not release statistics regarding these executions.

Who was Chan Thao Phoumi?

Chan—who was born in the southern city of Guangzhou but later acquired French citizenship—was one of 89 suspects arrested in 2005 on drug trafficking charges and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment in 2007. He was sentenced to death in 2010 by a court in his hometown. This sentence was handed down for his role in a drug ring worth 100 million yuan ($15 million), which involved the large-scale production, transportation, and trade of crystal methamphetamine within China.

In China, the threshold for the death penalty is set at 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of heroin or methamphetamine; however, the death penalty is typically imposed only in cases involving the trafficking of quantities significantly exceeding this limit.