Officials comment on suspended death sentence for Gu Kailai

(20 Aug 2012) The wife of a disgraced Chinese politician was given a suspended death sentence on Monday, after confessing to killing a British businessman in a case that rocked the country's top political leadership. A suspended sentence is usually commuted to life in prison after two years. Sentenced along with Gu Kailai was a family aide who was given nine years' imprisonment for his involvement in the murder of Neil Heywood, a former family associate. Tang Yigan, Deputy Director of the Hefei Intermediate People's Court, said Gu's crime was serious "in both circumstances and its consequences" and that she "should be sentenced to death." However Johnny Lau Yui Siu, a China analyst, said that according to the practice, "I think she will be released after some years." Lau thinks neither Gu nor her husband Bo Xilai would be executed because the top leaders fear that might stir outrage within the party. Bo still have a lot of supporters in Chongqing and within the party. Lau do not think Bo would get more severe terms than his wife did as the authorities tried to separate Bo, one of the country's most prominent political figures, from the murder of Heywood in order to minimize the impact on the leadership transition later this year. It closes one chapter of China's biggest political crisis in two decades, but also leaves open questions over the fate of Gu's husband, Bo Xilai, who was dismissed in March as the powerful Communist Party boss of the major city of Chongqing. His dismissal and his wife's murder trial come at a sensitive time, with party leaders handing over power soon to a younger generation. At one time Bo was considered a candidate for a top position. The lawyer He said he had to discuss the verdict with the Heywood family and did not know if they would lodge an appeal. State media say Gu confessed to intentional homicide at a one-day trial on 9 August under heavy guard. According to the reports, she and Heywood had a dispute over money and Heywood allegedly threatened her son. Gu was accused of luring the victim to a Chongqing hotel, getting him drunk and then pouring cyanide into his mouth. The family aide, Zhang Xiaojun, also confessed after being charged as an accessory. He had been expected to get a lighter sentence as state media reported from the trial that Gu planned the murder. The British Embassy, which had consular officials attend the trial, issued a statement on Monday saying it welcomed the fact China had tried those it had identified as responsible. The statement said Britain had told China it "wanted to see the trials in this case conform to international human rights standards and for the death penalty not to be applied." Gu's arrest and the ouster of her husband sparked the biggest political turbulence in China since the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...