China executes French citizen convicted of drug trafficking

BEIJING, April 5 (Reuters) - ‌China confirmed on ​Sunday ​the execution of a French national sentenced to death in 2010 for drug trafficking, ‌saying it did not discriminate against defendants on ⁠the basis of nationality, a day after Paris criticised the court ‌handling of the case.

The ‌Chinese embassy in France made the remarks in a brief statement on the execution of 62-year-old Chan ​Thao Phoumy after a 20-year stint in jail.

On Saturday, the French foreign ministry said it "particularly regretted" ⁠that Chan's defence was not allowed to attend the court's final hearing in ​violation of his rights.

China, one of the world's toughest enforcers of laws against drug trafficking, ​has occasionally executed foreign nationals ‌convicted of smuggling large amounts across its borders, but does not release statistics on ⁠executions.

Chan, born in the southern city of Guangzhou but later a naturalised French citizen, was one of 89 suspects ⁠arrested in 2005 for drug trafficking before being jailed for life ​in 2007.

He was handed the death penalty in 2010 by a court in his hometown for his role in a 100-million-yuan ($15-million) ‌drug operation that made, transported and dealt large amounts of crystal methamphetamine in China.

China's ‌threshold for the death penalty is 50 gm (1.8 oz) ⁠of heroin or methamphetamine, ‌but trafficking in ​much larger amounts is generally what leads to execution.

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Clarence ‌Fernandez)

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