Akmal Shaikh (5 April 1956 – 29 December 2009) was a British citizen, originally from Pakistan, who was executed in Urumqi, China, by lethal injection. Shaikh was the first EU national to be executed in China in 50 years. The father of five smuggled heroin to China in a suitcase on a plane. China defended its decision to put Shaikh to death and stated it had acted according to Chinese law.