Bo Appeal Denied as China Court Upholds Life Sentence
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Bo Xilai’s appeal of his life sentence for graft and abuse of power was rejected by a Chinese court, which upheld the harshest sentence in three decades for a former member of the Communist Party’s Politburo.
The Shandong High People’s Court upheld the original verdict, affirming a lower court’s decision on Sept. 22 to send Bo, 64, to prison for the rest of his life, according to a statement posted on its website. Bo’s appeal didn’t have a “factual or legal basis,” and the ruling was final, Hou Jianjun, a spokesman for the court, told reporters. Four of Bo’s family members attended the proceeding, he said.