( CNN ) -- As his father prepares to face the court in what 's being billed as China 's trial of the century , the son of former high-flying politician Bo Xilai has expressed hope that his father is able to `` defend himself without constraints . '' In a statement supplied to the New York Times on Monday , Bo Guagua writes that it 's been 18 months since he 's been in contact with his father or mother , Gu Kailai , who is serving a suspended death sentence . `` I can only surmise the conditions of their clandestine detention and the adversity they each endure in solitude , '' he wrote . Gu was found guilty in August of the 2011 murder of British businessman Neil Heywood in a Chongqing hotel room . A family employee , Zhang Xiaojun , was also convicted in the killing and sentenced to nine years in prison . TIMELINE : Bo Xilai scandal . The elder Bo is due to face trial on Thursday charged with bribery , corruption and abuse of power . `` I hope that in my father 's upcoming trial , he is granted the opportunity to answer his critics and defend himself without constraints of any kind , '' the younger Bo wrote . However , he adds : `` If my well-being has been bartered for my father 's acquiescence or my mother 's further cooperation , then the verdict will clearly carry no moral weight . '' During her one-day trial , Gu issued a statement saying she did n't deny allegations that she poisoned Heywood , but she said she did so because she thought her son 's life was in danger , according to the state-run Xinhua news agency . Bo : Mother 'silenced ' Bo wrote Monday that his mother had been `` silenced '' by the sentence , and was unable to defend herself against the `` opportunistic detractors that attack her reputation with impunity . '' `` She has already overcome unimaginable tribulation after the sudden collapse of her physical health in 2006 and subsequent seclusion , '' he wrote . `` Although it is of little comfort to my anxiety about her state of health , I know that she will continue to absorb all that she is accused of with dignity and quiet magnanimity . '' Position unravels . Before March 2012 , the Bo family was considered part of China 's political elite . The elder Bo was chief of the bustling metropolis of Chongqing , in the country 's southwest . His wife , Gu , a high-flying lawyer , and their son were the beneficiaries of his family 's wealth and connections at the top of Chinese politics . However , their privileged position started unraveling in March 2012 , when Bo 's right-hand man , then-Chongqing police chief , Wang Lijun , fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu with claims that Gu had been involved in Heywood 's murder . Bo was subsequently stripped of his posts and disappeared from public view . 'Sheer rubbish ' In one of his final statements , Bo condemned the treatment of his family , branding personal attacks as `` sheer rubbish . '' `` A few people have been pouring filth on Chongqing and me and my family , '' Bo said . `` They even say that my son studies abroad and drives a red Ferrari . Sheer rubbish ! I feel really furious . Sheer rubbish ! '' In the weeks after the allegations emerged , photos of Bo Guagua wearing an unbuttoned shirt with his arms draped around female students at an Oxford college party started circulating on the Internet . The photos drew a cool response in China were the sons and daughters of the political elite are often perceived to enjoy special privileges and treatment out of reach of most Chinese . In an open letter published on the Harvard Crimson in April , 2012 , Bo hit back at allegations he was living a `` party boy '' lifestyle . He denied ever having driven a Ferrari and said that , contrary to reports that he was coasting through his course , earned `` a 2:1 degree ( Second Class , First Honours ) overall and achieved a First in Philosophy . '' Bo graduated from Harvard 's Kennedy School of Government in May , 2012 . He previously attended Oxford , graduating in 2010 , and is reported to have recently enrolled in Columbia Law School .
Bo Xilai 's son Bo Guagua issues statement before father 's trial . Elder Bo is accused of bribery , corruption and abuse of power . Bo hopes father `` is granted the opportunity to answer his critics '' Mother is serving suspended death sentence for murdering Neil Heywood .