A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years in prison for corruption on Friday, adding another sentence to the charismatic leader who has been detained since 2023.
Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, was sentenced to seven years in prison in the same case.
The verdict comes amid negotiations between the Pakistani government and Khan's opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, following months of intense political turmoil and street protests demanding the leader's release.
"Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years, while Bushra Bibi has been sentenced to seven years," PTI spokesman Ahmed Janjua said in a statement.
The case involves a charitable trust set up by Khan and his wife in 2018.
According to the charges, Khan and Bibi obtained land worth 7 billion Pakistani rupees (€23.3 million) as a bribe from property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain.
In 2019, Hussain signed an out-of-court settlement with the UK's National Crime Agency to repatriate £190 million (€233.3 million) to the Pakistani government in a money laundering case.
At the time, Khan's office approved the money being returned to the tycoon's account, apparently in exchange for the land. The land was obtained in the name of the Al-Qadir University Trust for the construction of a charitable university.
Bibi, who was present at the prison where the trial was held, was arrested immediately after the verdict was announced.
The former prime minister, who was arrested in August last year, is being held in the high-security Adiala prison in the city of Rawalpindi, having been convicted of corruption, revealing official secrets and violating marriage laws.
