Verdict in Bo Xilai case to be delivered on Sunday

A court in Jinan has announced it will deliver a verdict on Sunday against disgraced politician Bo Xilai on charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power in a case set in motion by his wife’s murder of a British businessman.

The former Politburo member and Chongqing city party leader vigorously defended himself during his trial last month in the eastern city, acknowledging mistakes in his leadership but admitting no guilt in the charges laid against him.

Prosecutors accused him of interfering with the investigation into his wife’s murder of Briton Neil Heywood in November 2011, as well as other examples of corruption uncovered by investigators. However, the case against him also was widely perceived as a result of his downfall in factional infighting ahead of China’s leadership transition last autumn.

The Jinan Intermediate People’s Court said on Wednesday on its Sina Weibo account the verdict will be announced at 10am on Sunday.

In a sign of the event’s importance and sensitivity, a hotel near the court that served as the venue for news conferences during Bo’s trial is taking reservations from accredited journalists only until Monday in an apparent effort to keep away members of the public, among whom Bo continues to command considerable support.

Security was tight during the five-day trial but, in a rare display of openness, the court regularly released chunks of the transcript, revealing a surprising amount of detail for such a major political trial. Legal analysts said the transparency was less a sign of legal reform than a desire by China’s leadership to lend credibility to a process believed to have a foregone conclusion.