"Obviously, they do not want the full attention of the world media," said Willy Lam, a Hong Kong-based academic and former China editor of the South China Morning Post newspaper.
Zhang Ming, a politics professor from China's Renmin University, said Ms Gu's ties to the highest levels of Chinese politics meant Beijing could not risk allowing journalists to follow court proceedings.
"They fear any leak [about the] case since it involves political issues so they cannot have an open trial," he said.
But a foreign office spokesperson in Beijing said two British diplomats would be allowed to attend. "We've requested access from the Chinese authorities and have been granted access to two of our officials. They are going in a consular capacity."
The spokesperson refused to comment on whether members of Mr Heywood's family would also be in attendance.
Authorities say the evidence against Mrs Gu and her aide is "irrefutable and substantial" and have claimed the pair murdered Mr Heywood after he "threatened" Bo Guagua, the 24-year-old son of Mrs Gu and Mr Bo.
But a source close to the government in Chongqing, where Mr Bo was party secretary until earlier this year and still boasts considerable support, said authorities had been attempting "to tarnish [Gu's] her reputation" ahead of the trial.
"They are trying to make it look like it was Gu who brought trouble to Bo, not Bo telling Gu to do things," one source said this week.
Mrs Gu is expected to be represented by Jiang Min, a financial lawyer based in Anhui province who was appointed to her by the government and studied law at the University of Illinois. Calls to Mr Jiang's mobile phone went unanswered this week.
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