China ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang charged

 

China's former security chief Zhou Yongkang has been charged with bribery, abuse of power and the intentional disclosure of state secrets, state media report.

Mr Zhou was, until his retirement in 2012, one of China's most powerful men.
He headed the Ministry of Public Security and was a member of China's top decision-making body.
Once Xi Jinping took over as president in 2013, however, he was put under investigation.
A formal probe was announced in July 2014, after months of rumours, and he has since been expelled from the Communist Party.

 

Network targeted

Mr Zhou's case had been sent to a court in Tianjin, a northern port city, Xinhua news agency reported.
The head of China's top court said last month he would have an "open trial", though no date has been announced.
In a brief statement, China's top prosecution body said that the allegations against Mr Zhou were "extraordinarily severe".
"The defendant Zhou Yongkang... took advantage of his posts to seek gains for others and illegally took huge property and assets from others, abused his power, causing huge losses to public property and the interests of the state and the people," it said.