The long-awaited trial of fallen Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai will begin on Thursday, Xinhua reports:
Bo Xilai will stand open trial at the Jinan Intermediate People’s Court next week for charges of bribery, graft and abuse of power, the court said Sunday.
The open trial will start at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 22 at its 5th courtroom. [Source]
Bo’s indictment late last month was followed by detentions of both supporters and critics as authorities tried to keep control of the story. Meanwhile, news emerged of his son Bo Guagua’s enrollment at Columbia Law School, and of demands for compensation from the family of Neil Heywood, the British businessman whose murder by Bo’s wife Gu Kailai proved a pivotal episode in his downfall. The verdict from Thursday’s trial is in little doubt, but less certain is whether Gu’s expected testimony against her husband will be presented in person, a scenario to which Bo is said to be adamantly opposed. Read more about Bo’s case via CDT.
