China on Thursday handed suspended death sentences to two former defense ministers convicted of graft charges, the latest development in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign targeting the country’s military leadership.

Former Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and his successor Li Shangfu were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a Chinese military court.

According to court documents, Wei was found guilty of accepting bribes, while Li was convicted of both accepting and offering bribes. Both men were stripped of their political rights for life and had all personal assets confiscated.

Wei, 72, served as China’s defense minister from 2018 to 2023. Li, 68, succeeded him and held the post for less than eight months before disappearing from public view amid corruption investigations.

The sentences mark the harshest penalties for senior military officials since Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign began in 2012. 

In January, China removed one of its top generals, Zhang Youxia, who previously oversaw the military’s daily operations and outranked both Wei and Li.

According to a February report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, at least 36 generals and lieutenant generals have been officially purged since 2022, while another 65 officers are listed as missing or potentially under investigation. 

The report found that more than half of the People’s Liberation Army’s top leadership positions have been affected by the campaign.

China’s powerful Central Military Commission, which previously had 11 members, now has only one member besides Xi himself, according to reports.