A Chinese court says it will announce a verdict Sunday in the high-profile corruption trial of former senior politician Bo Xilai.
The Jinan Intermediate People's Court says on its microblog that the ruling will be delivered at 10:00 a.m. local time on Sunday.
Bo is a former Politburo member who stood trial last month on charges of taking bribes, embezzlement, and abuse of power.
During his trial, the 64-year-old acknowledged making some mistakes but denied most of the charges, putting up an unexpectedly vigorous defense.
The long-awaited verdict and sentencing will bring to an end one of China's most closely watched political scandals in decades.
Bo was removed as party secretary of Chongqing and ousted from the Politburo last year when that city's former police chief fled to a U.S. consulate with evidence about the Bo family's alleged involvement in the 2011 murder of a British businessman.
Prosecutors say Briton Neil Heywood was killed as a result of a financial dispute with Bo's wife, who was convicted of the murder last year and given a suspended death sentence, essentially a life term in prison.
Analysts have said China's top political leaders almost certainly decided beforehand that Bo will be found guilty and receive a lengthy prison sentence, as has been the case in other politically sensitive trials in China.
The Jinan Intermediate People's Court says on its microblog that the ruling will be delivered at 10:00 a.m. local time on Sunday.
Bo is a former Politburo member who stood trial last month on charges of taking bribes, embezzlement, and abuse of power.
During his trial, the 64-year-old acknowledged making some mistakes but denied most of the charges, putting up an unexpectedly vigorous defense.
The long-awaited verdict and sentencing will bring to an end one of China's most closely watched political scandals in decades.
Bo was removed as party secretary of Chongqing and ousted from the Politburo last year when that city's former police chief fled to a U.S. consulate with evidence about the Bo family's alleged involvement in the 2011 murder of a British businessman.
Prosecutors say Briton Neil Heywood was killed as a result of a financial dispute with Bo's wife, who was convicted of the murder last year and given a suspended death sentence, essentially a life term in prison.
Analysts have said China's top political leaders almost certainly decided beforehand that Bo will be found guilty and receive a lengthy prison sentence, as has been the case in other politically sensitive trials in China.
