China's former law minister sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes

 While suspending the death sentence given to the former Minister of Law of China for taking bribe, the court has sentenced him to life imprisonment.

According to the French news agency AFP, on Thursday, a Chinese court sentenced the former law minister for taking bribes and changing the rules.

The court in the city of Changchun, China, said in a statement that the death sentence of former law minister Fu Xinghua has been commuted to life imprisonment.

The court's sentence in the high-profile case is part of President Xi Jinping's campaign to crack down on corruption.

The court handed down the sentence at a time when the meeting of political leaders to elect Xi Jinping for a third term is to be held in three weeks.

In its verdict, the court said that the former politicians abused their power when they held high positions from 2005 to 2021.

The court said that the former minister has been "deprived of political rights for life and his personal property has also been confiscated."

The court further said in its decision that the 67-year-old former minister had accepted a bribe of 1.65 million dollars.

The court said Fu Xinghua covered up crimes committed by his brother between 2014 and 2015 as head of the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese officials have been convicted so far under an anti-corruption campaign that critics say Xi has used as a weapon to remove political opponents since he became president in 2013.

In addition, on Thursday, the court sentenced the head of the Political and Legal Committee of Jiangsu Province to death for accepting a bribe of more than 60 million dollars.

Three ex-policemen were also sentenced yesterday for corruption.