A Pakistani court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years Saturday for corruption involving gifts the jailed leader received while in office.
The former prime minister faces dozens of cases filed since he was ousted from office in 2022, ranging from corruption to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges.
Khan has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which his party says are politically motivated.
"The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence and sentenced 17 years imprisonment to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with heavy fines," Khan's family lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer told Reuters.
They were handed 10 years' rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan's penal code for criminal breach of trust and a further seven years under anti-corruption laws, the special court of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency said in its verdict.
Khan's jail term from Saturday's ruling would begin after he has served the 14 years from the land graft case, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
Under Pakistani law, government officials must declare all gifts, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value or buy them back at a discount.
Saturday's sentencing came on charges of undervaluing a jewellery set made by the Italian luxury brand Bulgari that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presented to Khan and his wife in May 2021.
The case is separate from an earlier case, linked to luxury watches also presented by Prince Mohammed, in which Khan was sentenced to 14 years and Bibi seven.
In a post on X, the former prime minister's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said that the latest conviction by a "kangaroo court is just to prolong Imran Khan's illegal, unjust incarceration".
"The entire world knows these cases are politically motivated," it added.
Party spokesman Syed Zulfikhar Bukhari told AFP that the ruling "ignores basic principles of justice".
"Criminal liability has been imposed without proof of intent, gain or loss, relying on a retrospective reinterpretation of the rules," he said.
Khan has told his legal team to appeal the decision at the Islamabad High Court, Salman Safdar, another one of his lawyers, told reporters outside the jail where the trials were being held, Geo News reported.
Khan's family have ratcheted up their efforts to draw attention of his prison conditions.
In a recent interview with Sky News, the former leader's son Kasim Khan said that his father was in "complete isolation" and not even allowed to communicate with guards.
"It's all kind of psychological torture tactics. No contact with family, no contact with personal physician or anything like that. They use these tactics to try and completely isolate him," he said.
Pakistan's government has repeatedly rejected such allegations.
Following Saturday’s verdict, the PTI announced plans for protests across Punjab today.
Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, remains one of Pakistan's most polarising figures, with his legal battles unfolding as the PTI remains sidelined from power.
