Bo Xi Lai’s Conviction Upheld: Life Sentence Still Stands

ABC News, and almost every other international news agency, has recently reported that former Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Bo Xi Lai has recently lost the appeal of his corruption conviction. As a result, his life sentence stands.

Most commentators, IPG Legal included, seem to agree that the charges brought against Mr. Bo were politically-motivated and the entire legal system in China, particularly as it relates to cases that may seriously affect China’s political or economic system, is still in large part controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

I have myself observed a Chinese criminal court try and convict a man who had no access to a lawyer. The case involved a large company suing a private businessman for fraud. Before issuing her final ruling on the case, the judge went into a backroom where she consulted with Communist Party officials on how the case should be concluded. Unsurprisingly, the man was convicted, and even more unsurprisingly, the judge was quite frank about what she was doing in the backroom.

This was just one guy defrauding a mid-tier business… so, we can imagine what must be happening behind the scenes when something actually important comes along.

IPG Legal will keep you updated with more news about the case as it happens. We don’t think we’ve seen the last of Mr. Bo just yet.

To learn more about the case and read the article from ABC News see:
China Court Upholds Bo Xi Lai Conviction, Life Term.

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