A French national, Chan Thao Phoumy, sentenced to death in 2010 for drug trafficking, has been executed in Guangzhou, the French foreign ministry confirmed, expressing deep concern.
The 62-year-old, born in Laos, was executed despite diplomatic efforts by France to secure clemency on humanitarian grounds. In a statement, French authorities reiterated their opposition to the death penalty “in all places and under all circumstances” and called for its universal abolition.
Paris also criticized the legal process, saying the defense team was denied access to the final court hearing, which it described as a violation of the defendant’s rights.
Initially arrested in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment, Chan was retried after new evidence emerged and later condemned to death by a court in Guangzhou for manufacturing, transporting, smuggling, and trafficking methamphetamine. He was accused of being part of a network that produced large quantities of the drug in China between 1999 and 2003.
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Responding to the case, China declined to comment on specifics but defended its handling of drug-related crimes. In a statement, Chinese authorities said combating drug trafficking is the responsibility of all states and insisted that defendants of all nationalities are treated equally under the law.
According to the group Ensemble contre la peine de mort, Chan was one of several French nationals on death row worldwide.
Human rights organization Amnesty International has repeatedly stated that China carries out the highest number of executions globally, estimating that thousands of people are sentenced to death and executed each year. Official figures are not published, as such data is considered a state secret.
