Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in a corruption case, the latest in a series of charges against him.
This is the longest valid prison sentence the cricket star-turned-politician has served detained since August 2023has received
He has been charged in more than 100 cases, ranging from leaking state secrets to selling government gifts – all of which he has denounced as politically motivated.
The latest case was described by Pakistani authorities as the country's biggest, although the country has seen huge financial scandals in the past, some involving former leaders.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were accused of receiving a plot of land as a bribe from a property tycoon through the Al-Qadir Trust, which the couple had set up while he was in office.
In return, according to investigators, Khan used 190 million pounds ($232 million) repatriated by the UK's National Crime Agency to pay the tycoon's legal fines.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claimed that the land was donated to the trust for a spiritual education center and was not used for Khan's personal gain.
In a post on X, PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan said the former prime minister had “done nothing wrong” and that it was a “politically motivated unfair trial”.
“But (Imran Khan) will not surrender, will not surrender, will not break,” he wrote.
Friday's ruling comes after multiple delays as Khan's party held talks with the government.
After his sentencing Friday, Khan told reporters in the courtroom that he “will neither take a deal nor seek relief.”
Khan's sentence of 14 years in prison is the maximum that can be given in the case. He was also fined more than £4,000.
His wife was jailed for seven years and fined over £2,000. Bibi, who has been out on bail since last October, was held in court after her sentence was announced.
In 2023 Khan was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to declare money earned from selling gifts he received while in office.
Last year, Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison for selling government gifts and another 10 years to reveal state secrets. Both sentences were suspended months later.
Despite being imprisoned and barred from holding public office, Kahn still looms large over Pakistan's political scene. Last year's elections saw candidates backed by Imran Khan winning the most seats from all parties.
Khan's prosecution sparked widespread protests by his supporters – who were met with repression from the authorities. Thousands of protesters were arrested and many injured in clashes with the police.