Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in corruption case

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in a corruption case, the latest in a series of charges brought against him.

It is the longest valid prison sentence for the cricket star turned politician, who has been detained since August 2023has received.

He has faced charges in more than 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling state gifts, all of which he denounced as politically motivated.

The latest case has been described by Pakistani authorities as the largest the country has ever seen, although the country has seen huge financial scandals in the past, some of which involved former leaders.

Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were accused of receiving a plot of land as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through the Al-Qadir Trust, which the couple had created while he was in office.

In return, investigators said, Khan used £190 million ($232 million) repatriated by the U.K.’s National Crime Agency to pay the tycoon’s court fines.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party argued that the land was donated to the trust for a spiritual education center and was not used for Khan’s personal benefit.

In a post on

“But (Imran Khan) will not give in, will not surrender, will not bow down,” he wrote.

Friday’s verdict comes after multiple delays while Khan’s party held talks with the government.

Following his sentencing on Friday, Khan told reporters in the courtroom that he “wouldn’t make any deal or seek any relief.”

Khan’s prison sentence of 14 years is the maximum that could be imposed in the case. He has also been fined more than £4,000.

His wife has been sentenced to seven years and fined more than £2,000. Bibi, who has been out on bail since last October, was detained in court after her sentence was announced.

In 2023, Khan was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to declare money earned from the sale of gifts he had received while in office.

Last year, Khan received a 14-year prison sentence for selling state gifts and another 10 years for leaking state secrets. Both sentences were suspended months later.

Despite being in prison and unable to hold public office, Khan still looms over Pakistan’s political scene. In last year’s elections the candidates were backed by Imran Khan. win the most seats of all parties.

Khan’s prosecution has sparked large-scale protests by his supporters, who have been was met with repression by the authorities. Thousands of protesters have been arrested and many injured in clashes with police.