Bo Xilai protests innocence as life sentence for corruption is upheld

Fallen politician Bo Xilai put on a final act of defiance yesterday after a high court in Shandong rejected his appeal against his life sentence, declaring "I am not guilty" at the final hearing of China's most explosive political case in decades.

Bo, handcuffed and wearing a blue jacket for his last public appearance before going to jail, constantly interrupted the judge's reading of the ruling during the 40-minute session, according to two court witnesses.

"This is a false ... wrongful case, and the officials handling it just wanted to claim credit and become 'tiger-taming' heroes," Bo said after the Provincial Higher People's Court upheld his conviction and sentence for corruption and abuse of power.

Sources said an agitated Bo peppered the presiding judge's announcement with sharp and at times acerbic counter-points. The two towering court security guards standing next to him tried to push down his shoulders every time Bo uttered a protest.

"I only respect facts," Bo retorted when the judge warned him to "respect the law".

The high court said Bo and his defence team had submitted 11 reasons to support the appeal, filed immediately after the former Politburo member was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Jinan Intermediate People's Court on September 22.

One point made by defence lawyers was that Bo's corruption case had been triggered by the failed attempt by his former aide, Wang Lijun , to defect to the US consulate in Chengdu , for which Wang received a 15-year sentence - a much lighter punishment than Bo's.