Chinese issue letter criticising case against Bo

BEIJING (AP) - An array of activists, academics and dissidents are questioning the authorities' purge of Mr Bo Xilai, demanding that China's legislature follow the rule of law and allow the disgraced leader to defend himself before lawmakers.

China's leadership is desperate to move beyond a scandal involving a former member of its Politburo that has drawn worldwide attention, and some say it is doing so at the expense of standard legal procedures.

Left-leaning supporters of Mr Bo wrote an open letter to the National People's Congress urging it to allow Mr Bo to have his say. The petition has begun to draw broader and somewhat unlikely support, attracting signatures from exiled dissidents and rights activists who do not consider themselves in Mr Bo's corner.

The legislature's standing committee was expected to expel Mr Bo during its four-day meeting starting Tuesday, a move that would strip Mr Bo of his legislative immunity and pave the way for his criminal prosecution, likely in a swift trial.