French architect flies to China to help police in Bo Xilai case

French architect Patrick Devillers has flown to China to talk to police about his links to disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai after being freed in Cambodia where he had been arrested at Beijing’s request.

Devillers was released on Monday and boarded a flight for Shanghai the following day “by his own will”, according to Cambodia’s deputy national police chief Sok Phal.

“He said he is going there to be a witness,” Sok Phal said, adding that the French embassy “supported this 100 per cent”.

The French foreign ministry on Wednesday confirmed that he left voluntarily.

Devillers’s 13 June arrest on unspecified charges and China’s request for extradition sparked a diplomatic tussle between Paris and Beijing.

Last week Cambodian officials said that China had promised to grant Devillers immunity from prosecution in return for his cooperation with their investigation into Bo, whose high-flying career was ended by charges of corruption, and his wife Gu Kailai, who is suspected of involvement in the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.

Earlier French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who was on a visit to Beijing, met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, although it is not known whether they discussed the Devillers case.