A Chinese military court has sentenced two former defense ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption, BBC News reports.

If the convicts commit no further crimes during the two-year period, the death sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or commutation.

According to the Xinhua news agency, Wei was found guilty of taking bribes, while Li was convicted of both taking and offering bribes. Both were stripped of political rights for life and had their property confiscated.

Wei Fenghe served as China's defense minister from 2018 to 2023. Li Shangfu succeeded him in March 2023 but was removed from office in October of the same year.

China's anti-corruption campaign has intensified since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. Purges within the armed forces have become a key focus of the campaign, Reuters notes.

Source: www.gazeta.uz