Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET on 2013-09-18
China's disgraced political star Bo Xilai will know his fate Sunday on charges of corruption, embezzlement, and abuse of power, the court trying him announced Wednesday, marking the climax of the country's biggest political scandal in decades.
The Jinan Intermediate People’s Court made the announcement of his verdict date in a short statement on its verified Sina Weibo microblogging account following Bo’s dramatic trial in August.
Observers have said they expect the former Chongqing politician—whose downfall at the heart of a murder and corruption scandal rocked the ruling Chinese Communist Party—to be found guilty, but the severity of his punishment remains in question.
The charges against him mean he could be sentenced to death or given life in prison, while analysts have estimated he could receive 15 or 20 years in prison at the low end.
Critics of the trial have said the verdict will be based on backdoor political bargaining in the midst of an anti-graft campaign launched under President Xi Jinping.
Shenzhen-based rights lawyer Guo Yongfeng said he expects Bo, a charismatic leader whose populist policies in Chongqing earned him widespread support, will receive a light sentence in a verdict he believes will be based on politics.
“No matter what sentence Bo Xilai is given, it won’t have any effect on changing the current political system because this is part of a power struggle among leaders,” said Guo, who called on authorities to ensure Bo receives a fair trial.
There would be little political use in Bo receiving a heavy sentence since his career has already been destroyed, while a light sentence would help appease those who still support him, Guo said.
“My guess is that Bo won’t get a heavy sentence,” he said. “Bo’s supporters will be comforted, but the political life of Bo Xilai is already over."
During his five-day trial, which was attended only by state media and broadcast in edited blog posts by the Jinan court, Bo mounted a feisty defense, cross-examining witnesses, dismissing his wife as "insane," and attacking the standard of the evidence presented against him throughout.
'Extremely serious' crimes
At the close of the trial, prosecutors demanded a tough penalty, telling the court that Bo’s crimes were “extremely serious” with no mitigating factors. Bo denied most of the charges.
Beijing-based rights lawyer Mo Shaoping said he thinks Bo’s denials do not mean he will receive a harsh verdict.
“On the other hand, I think you cannot dismiss his defense as completely irrelevant. Some of the questions he raised during the trial are right to the point,” he said.
He said Bo’s defense had poked serious holes in the case against him.
“If judged from the perspective of law practice, I think the evidence the prosecutors presented was not sound and solid.”
“So I believe his verdict is mostly a result of extrajudicial or political considerations rather than a result of an exercise of the law,” Mo said.
Supporters
Supporters of Bo, who has become a rallying symbol for the Maoist left in the Party, say he is the victim of politically motivated persecution.
“I believe he is innocent,” said Song Ying, a supporter from Zhengzhou in Henan province. “I won’t agree with whatever sentence he receives.”
She said she believes Bo still has a political career ahead of him because she and other supporters still have faith in him.
“The verdict is not important. The important thing is that in the hearts of the people, his political career is just starting.”
Beijing-based journalist Gao Yu said the fact that Bo’s trial had focused on Bo’s economic crimes without addressing any of the policies he carried out in Chongqing indicates that the current Chinese leadership were not displeased with the Maoist revival campaigns he spearheaded.
“When Bo launched rampant campaigns to propagandize Maoist doctrines in Chongqing, how many illegal things did he do? Have these things now been exposed completely?” she said.
“In the trial, the prosecution didn’t charge Bo for [anything related to] those political campaigns.”
“They want to divert public attention away from Bo’s political wrongs. Thus, many intellectuals currently hold that Bo Xilai-style politics are being continued in China without Bo Xilai,” Gao said.
After Sunday’s ruling, Bo will have until Oct. 9 after the National Day Golden Week holiday to submit an appeal.
But the verdict will be seen by party authorities as a chance to bring the widely followed case to a close.
Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFA’s Cantonese Service and by He Ping for the Mandarin Service. Translated by Wen Yuqing and Ping Chen. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.