Bo Xilai's lawyer unsure if he can take case

A lawyer for disgraced former top Chinese politician Bo Xilai, who has been employed by the family to represent him, said on Thursday he was unable to say whether the government would allow him to represent Bo when the case comes to trial.

Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun, have both been jailed over a scandal stemming from the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood while Bo was Communist Party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing.

The government last month accused Bo of corruption and of bending the law to hush up Heywood’s murder. Before Bo is formally charged and tried, investigators must complete an inquiry and indict him.

Bo’s mother-in-law, Fan Chengxiu, has retained Li Xiaolin, who was also part of Gu’s legal team, to represent him.

But Li said he was unsure if the authorities would allow this. During Gu’s trial, she had to use government-appointed lawyers.

“I still can’t say whether I’ll be able to get involved in this case. We will try our hardest to take it,” Li told reporters in a brief telephone interview.

Li said he did not know where Bo was and added that he had not seen him, as he had only just been employed by Fan.