Chinese court commutes death sentence for Bo Xilai’s wife, murderer Gu Kailai
Former railway chief Liu Zhijun also given a reprieve in rare high-profile announcement
China took the rare step on Monday of announcing that the suspended death sentences handed down to two high-profile figures had been reduced to life in prison.
Commuting such sentences is a routine practice, but highlighting it is unusual.
In Beijing, the high court on Monday said that Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced former Politburo member Bo Xilai, had her suspended death penalty reduced to a life sentence following good behaviour.
She was found guilty in 2012 of murdering a British businessman in a case that also brought down her husband, triggering one of the biggest political scandals in generations.
Former railway minister Liu Zhijun, convicted of bribery and abuse of power in 2013, also saw his sentence similarly reduced, according to media reports.
But the Shandong Higher People’s Court extended its review for the third time of the wrongful conviction of Nie Shubin, who was executed in 1995 for the rape and murder of a woman in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. He was 21 when executed and a decade later, another man came forward to admit he carried out the attack.
READ MORE: The tragedy of Gu Kailai
