Two former Chinese defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a military court for corruption and bribery. The verdicts, announced by Chinese state media, are among the harshest sentences against high-ranking military officials in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. Wei was found guilty of accepting large bribes, while Li was found guilty of accepting and giving bribes for personal gain and for certain networks.
Reprieved death sentences are common practice in China's legal system, and are usually converted to life imprisonment without parole if the convicts do not commit any offenses during the reprieve. In addition to the death sentences, the two were also stripped of their political rights for life and had all their personal assets confiscated by the state. The case is part of a major purge of the Chinese military, which in recent years has ensnared dozens of high-ranking officials in an effort to strengthen discipline and loyalty within the armed forces.
