Gu Kailai Trial: New Details Emerge On Trial Of Bo Xilai’s Wife

By ISOLDA MORILLO (AP)
BEIJING — The wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has agreed to be defended by two government-appointed lawyers in the murder case against her, two different lawyers with knowledge of the case said Saturday. Her decision could be the latest sign that a resolution to her case is near.

Gu Kailai’s lawyers are based in Anhui province, where her trial is to be held. It is hundreds of kilometers (miles) from Chongqing city, where Gu is alleged to have killed a British businessman and where her husband, Bo Xilai, was the Communist Party boss until earlier this year.

A lawyer close to the case said Gu and her family have accepted the court appointment of Anhui lawyer Jiang Min, a director of the provincial lawyers’ association, as her defense lawyer, along with a second lawyer, Zhou Yuhao of Wuhu, another Anhui city.

The lawyer did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the case. Another lawyer with knowledge of Gu’s case, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Jiang would represent Gu but did not know the name of her second lawyer.

Jiang and Zhou could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The government announced Thursday that Gu and a family aide had been charged with murdering Neil Heywood, a British businessman with whom the Bo family had close ties. Chinese authorities are now also expected to quickly move ahead with the trial, which has overshadowed preparations for a once-a-decade political transition later this year.

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