(CBS/AP) HEFEI, China - The secretive murder trial of the wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has ended after all of four hours. There has been no immediate word on when a verdict will be delivered.
Gu Kailai and a household aide face, Zhang Xiaojun, charges of murdering Neil Heywood, a British businessman who had close ties to the Bo family.
The trial is being held the Hefei Intermediate People's Court in eastern China. The accused are being represented by government-appointed lawyers from Anhui province, of which Hefei is the capital.
The court's deputy director Tang Yigan said the trial has ended but would not say when a verdict was expected.
Expert: Trial of Bo Xilai's wife "just theater"
Video:Bo Xilai's wide charged with murder
Murder trial of Bo Xilai's wife likely to be quick
Although two British diplomats were allowed into the court under an agreement with China because of Heywood's nationality, international media were not allowed in.
Tang said prosecutors told the court that Gu sent Zhang to meet and accompany Heywood from Beijing to the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing. On the night of Nov. 13, Gu went to Heywood's hotel and drank wine and tea with him.
"When Heywood was drunk and vomited and wanted to drink water, she then took pre-prepared poison that she had asked Zhang Xiaojun to carry and poured it into Heywood's mouth, killing him," Tang said.Tang said that Gu and Zhang didn't contest the murder charge.
The secretive and tightly orchestrated court proceeding marks a step toward resolving the messiest scandal the leadership has faced in two decades. Observers say the Communist Party leadership's main objective in the case is to keep the focus tightly on the murder case and not on larger allegations of corruption that could further taint the Chinese regime.
State media also reported that four police officials had been arrested and accused of covering up Heyward's murder. The four are expected to stand trial Friday, according to the report.
The morning of Gu's trial began with a steady downpour. Security was tight around the courthouse, with roads around it blocked to car travel. Reporters were asked to present their IDs before being allowed to get close to the building, but police lines were pulled across the main entrance and guarded by officers. Other entrances were similarly guarded. Dozens of plainclothes security officers loitered around the streets. Several special police vans were parked around the building.
While the short length of just several hours for a murder trial may surprise legal experts in other countries, it is quite common in China, where verdicts are even delivered the same day in serious cases involving the death penalty.
"Frankly, in my experience, it's very unusual for criminal trials (in China) to extend beyond a day," said Joshua Rosenzweig, a human rights researcher based in Hong Kong. "It's a pretty streamlined affair."
Rosenzweig said trials are short in part because witness testimony is usually written, instead of delivered in person.
"It's very rare to see what you see in other countries, where a trial starts on one day and extents through many, many days," he said. "The process is very structured. A Chinese criminal trial is not a free-flowing process."
In Gu's trial, Tang said material evidence, written evidence, witness statements and other materials were presented.
Tang said Gu's lawyer told the court that Heywood bore some responsibility for the cause of the crime, although he did not say why. The lawyer also said Gu had less than normal control of her actions when the crime was committed and that she had informed on the crimes of others. Tang did not say what crimes.
Tang said Zhang's lawyer asked for leniency because he was only an accomplice. He said that during the hearing, Gu seemed to be in good health with a stable mood.
Tang said the court would seriously study the evidence and arguments of both sides and make a judgment at a date to be announced in the future.
Gu and the aide, Zhang Xiaojun, are likely to be found guilty of intentional homicide, which carries punishment ranging from more than 10 years in jail to a life sentence or the death penalty. In announcing the indictment about two weeks ago, the official Xinhua News Agency made clear the government considers the verdict a foregone conclusion. "The facts of the two defendants' crime are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial," it said.
Gu and Zhang were accused of poisoning Heywood in November in the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing, where Bo was party chief until his ouster this spring. According to Xinhua, Gu had a falling out with Heywood over money and worried that her son's safety was threatened.
In London, Heywood's mother accused the press of spreading lies about her son. "You've all behaved so appallingly," Ann Heywood said Wednesday outside her home.
British media have suggested Neil Heywood was involved in money laundering, worked for British intelligence or that he was Gu's lover. Ann Heywood claimed to know more about the case than was in the public domain, but she wasn't specific and said the truth would come out eventually.
zon-mlm
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar