Yesterday the judges in Beijing have commuted the death sentence issued against Gu Kailai, wife of the former leader of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, and of former Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun. Instead Pu Zhiqiang, a dissident who criticized the repression of Uyghurs and the militaristic rhetoric of Beijing, is jailed.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - Beijing High People's Court  announced it had commuted the death penalty against the wife of a former leader of the Party, guilty of murder and corruption. Similarly, a former Minister of Railways - convicted of bribery and abuse of power - has benefited from a reduction of his sentence.

Gu Kailai is the wife of disgraced Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing. The woman was sentenced to death by the court of Anhui in August 2012 for the murder of the British lobbyist Neil Heywood. The process has unveiled a series of linked crimes - from corruption to abuse of power – thanks to which the central government was able to expel, indict and convict Bo.

Thanks to her "good conduct in prison," the judges saw fit to commute the sentence against Gu. Now, say many experts, she could benefit from new sentence reductions and obtain full release. Similarly, the Court has pardoned the former Minister Liu Zhijun: his lawyer, Qian Lieyang, now says that "in a few years, if all goes well, his will turn into a life sentence  of25 years in prison."

Although the practice of reducing the punishment is quite common in China for cases related to politics, it is very rare that the decision is made public. While trials against dissidents and human rights activists are highly publicized by state media, in order to "discourage" civilian opposition to the government. Yesterday the newspapers gave wide coverage to the opening of the proceedings against Pu Zhiqiang, one of the country's most famous human rights lawyers.

Accused of "inciting ethnic hatred" and "causing confusion", the man risks several years in prison. In reality he is being targeted by authorities for his comments - very popular on social media - about the violent repression and Uyghur ethnicity and Beijing’s rhetoric over the disputed islands in the South China Sea. The opening of the trial saw clashes in front of the court; it is unclear when the ruling will be issued.

The Chinese justice system has finally made a very delicate decision regarding the case of Nie Shubin: sentenced to death and executed in 1995 on charges of rape and murder, he was innocent. Shandong judges now have to decide who to punish the error - the police or investigators - but for the third time in a row they delayed sentencing.

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