Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 14 years in prison each on Wednesday (Jan. 31) for corruption.
The sentence was given a day after another special court convicted Khan - currently serving an initial three-year sentence - to an additional 10-year jail time for leaking state secrets, making it the third since he was ousted from power in 2022. All of the sentences virtually disqualified Khan from holding any public office.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the former prime minister told his followers to "take revenge for every injustice" by voting for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party on Feb. 8 "while remaining peaceful."
"Tell them that we are not sheep that can be driven with a stick," he added.
Khan's Lawyer Claims His Rights Were Violated
Khan's lawyer Babar Awan even alleged that his client was convicted and sentenced in such a hurry that the judge did not wait for the arrival of his legal team.
"It seems the judge was in a hurry to announce the verdict," he said, adding that Khan's basic human and fundamental rights had been violated.
Nevertheless, Awan explained, his latest conviction and sentencing would be challenged in higher courts.
According to the Associated Press, Khan and Bibi were accused of retaining and selling state gifts when the former was in power.
Three weeks earlier, the couple were indicted on graft charges for retaining state gifts such as jewelry and watches from Saudi Arabia's government.