PARIS, France: France condemned the execution by China of a French citizen convicted of drug trafficking after keeping him on death row for more than 15 years.

The ministry said it was deeply shocked and added that Chan's lawyers were not allowed to attend the final hearing, which it said broke his legal rights. It also expressed sympathy to his family and said it shared their sadness.

Chan Thao Phoumy, 62, was executed in Guangzhou in southern China, even though France had asked for leniency, the French Foreign Ministry said on April 4. It did not say when the execution happened. He had been sentenced to death in 2010.

Chan was born in Guangzhou but later became a French citizen. He was one of 89 people arrested in 2005 for drug trafficking and was first given a life sentence in 2007.

In 2010, a court in his hometown sentenced him to death for his role in a large drug operation worth about 100 million yuan (around US$15 million), involving the production, transport, and sale of large amounts of crystal meth in China.

In a short statement on April 5, the Chinese Embassy in Paris did not mention Chan by name but said that China treats all defendants equally and handles cases fairly in accordance with the law.

France abolished the death penalty in 1981 and strongly opposes its use worldwide.

Executions in China, usually carried out by shooting or lethal injection, are kept secret but are believed to be common. Amnesty International says China executes more people than any other country, with thousands believed to be sentenced and executed each year.

China, which has very strict laws against drug trafficking, has sometimes executed foreign nationals convicted of smuggling large amounts of drugs, but it does not publish official figures on executions.