A court in Pakistan has convicted the country’s already imprisoned former prime minister, Imran Khan, and his wife Bushra Bibi in a new corruption case that he has disputed as politically motivated.
"The prosecution has proven its case. Khan is convicted," Judge Nasir Javed Rana said in announcing a 14-year prison sentence on January 17 for Khan and a seven-year prison term for his wife.
The couple were convicted of accepting a gift in the form of land from business tycoon Malik Riaz in exchange for laundered money when Khan was in power.
Prosecutors alleged the amount in the case totaled some 190 million British pounds ($240 million) -- the largest case of alleged financial wrongdoing against Khan.
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Imran Khan Jailed 14 Years In Corruption Case
The 72-year-old former cricket superstar-turned-politician, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been in jail since August 2023 and faces more than 150 criminal cases.
"I will never accept this dictatorship and I will stay in the prison cell for as long as I have to in the struggle against this dictatorship, but I will not compromise on my principles and the struggle for the true freedom of the nation," Khan said in a post on X.
"Our resolve is true freedom, democracy and the rule of law, which we will continue to fight for until the last ball. I will not make any deals and will face all false cases."
Khan and his Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) political party have said the cases are politically motivated to prevent him from returning to office.
Khan -- who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022 -- enjoys huge popularity among Pakistanis.
The ruling was delivered by an anti-graft court in a prison in Rawalpindi, where the former premier has been jailed.
Local media reported that Bushra Bibi was taken into custody shortly after the verdict, having been out on bail.
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Khan’s defense lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said the verdict will be challenged in higher courts, as lawmakers from PTI rallied outside the parliament, saying the former premier had been wrongly punished.
The PTI said in a statement that the case against Khan and his spouse “lacks any solid foundation and is bound to collapse."
“This is a bogus case, and we will approach an appeals court against this decision,” said Omar Ayub Khan, a senior PTI leader who is not related to the former premier.
Some of Khan’s supporters gathered outside the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, and chanted slogans against the government, demanding Khan’s release.
Khan had previously been convicted in three separate cases on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets, and violating marriage laws, and sentenced to 10, 14, and seven years, respectively.
According to Pakistani law, he is to serve the terms concurrently: meaning, the length of the longest of the sentences.