China executes Frenchman convicted in 2010 for drug trafficking

Chan Thao Phoumy, a 62-year-old Frenchman born in Laos, was executed, “despite the efforts of the French authorities, including efforts to obtain a pardon on humanitarian grounds for our compatriot”, said a foreign ministry statement.

Phoumy, who was born in Laos, had been sentenced to death in 2010 following a conviction for drug trafficking. Despite sustained diplomatic pressure and formal requests for clemency on humanitarian grounds, Chinese authorities proceeded with the capital sentence.

A massive drug manufacturing and distribution operation

Chan Thao Phoumy was convicted for his involvement in a massive drug manufacturing and distribution operation that remains one of the largest drug-related cases in Chinese history. Phoumy and his accomplices were convicted of manufacturing approximately 8 tons of crystal methamphetamine between 1999 and 2003.

The syndicate operated across multiple provinces, including Guangdong and Henan, and managed at least 16 different factories dedicated to the production of heroin and methamphetamine.

Phoumy was initially arrested in March 2005 during a massive police sweep that netted 89 suspects and dismantled five cross-border drug rings. He was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking in 2007.

While he was serving that life sentence, authorities uncovered "additional crimes" related to the same manufacturing ring. This led to a new trial where the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court upgraded his sentence to death in 2010.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Saturday the execution of Chan Thao Phoumy in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The Quai d’Orsay expressed "consternation" over the development, highlighting significant procedural concerns regarding the final stages of the legal process. According to the ministry, Phoumy’s defense team was denied access to the final court hearing, a move described by French officials as a violation of fundamental legal rights and due process.

In its official statement, the ministry reaffirmed France’s unwavering opposition to capital punishment.

China: The World’s Leading Executioner

China remains the world’s most prolific user of the death penalty, though the exact number of annual executions is classified as a state secret. Human rights organizations consistently estimate that China carries out thousands of executions each year—more than the rest of the world combined. While the Supreme People’s Court must review every death sentence, the lack of transparency surrounding the data makes independent verification of the judicial process difficult.

Capital Punishment for Drug Offenses

The execution of drug traffickers is a cornerstone of China's "hard-strike" policy against narcotics. Under the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the death penalty can be applied to individuals convicted of smuggling, selling, transporting, or manufacturing drugs in large quantities (for example, 50 grams or more of heroin or methamphetamine).

While many nations have moved toward treating drug addiction as a public health crisis and trafficking as a crime warranting life imprisonment, China maintains that the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent. This creates frequent diplomatic friction with abolitionist nations, particularly member states of the European Union, whose citizens occasionally face the highest penalty under the Chinese legal system.

Source: DPN, AFP, Staff, AI April 5, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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