Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced on Saturday by a court to 17 years in prison for breach of trust and corruption, linked to gifts the leader received while in office.
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Both were given 10 years for breach of trust and seven years for corruption.
Imran Khan has faced many legal issues since his government was removed in 2022.
He has been in prison since 2023 and says he is innocent, calling the charges politically motivated.
In Pakistan, government officials are required to report all gifts they receive, but they can keep gifts of a lower value or buy them back at a reduced price.
The case against Imran Khan involves a set of jewelry from the Italian luxury brand Bulgari, which was given to him and his wife by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in May 2021.
The value of the jewelry, according to the case, was not properly declared.
This new trial is different from an earlier case involving luxury watches also given by the Saudi prince, where Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years and his wife to seven years.
On social media, the party of the former Prime Minister, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said the court was a "puppet court" and that the ruling was meant to keep Imran Khan in jail illegally and unjustly.
The party’s spokesperson, Syed Zulfikhar Bukhari, told AFP that the court ignored the basic rules of justice.
Imran Khan’s family has been working hard to highlight the conditions of his detention.
In an interview with the British channel Sky News, his son Kasim Khan said his father was "in total isolation" and couldn’t even talk to the guards.
"He has no contact with family, no contact with his personal doctor, nothing like that.
They are using these tactics to try to isolate him completely," he said.
The Pakistani government has denied all these claims.
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