A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the country’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 14 years imprisonment and his wife Bushra Bibi to seven years after finding them guilty in a corruption case, Dawn reported.

The judge also fined Khan 10 lakh Pakistani rupees and his wife 5 lakh rupees. If they fail to pay the fine, the former prime minister will face six additional months of imprisonment, while Bushra Bibi will face an additional three months.

The case pertains to allegations that Khan and Bushra obtained billions of rupees and large tracts of land from Malik Riaz, real estate tycoon and founder of the firm Bahria Town Limited, to build an educational institute, according to Dawn.

In exchange, they agreed to legalise 5,000 crore rupees that had been identified and returned to Pakistan by the United Kingdom during the tenure of Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the country’s National Accountability Bureau has alleged.

Friday’s verdict was announced amid tight security in a special courtroom inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. Bushra Bibi was arrested in the courtroom. Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and is facing dozens of cases of alleged corruption and misuse of power.

Khan, in a message through jail posted on social media, urged his followers not to lose hope.

“I will never accept this dictatorship, and I am prepared to remain in a prison cell for as long as it takes in the struggle against this tyranny,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder said. “I will not compromise on my principles or the fight for the true freedom of the nation.”

Khan claimed that the verdict had eroded the judiciary’s credibility. He also said that his wife is a homemaker with no connection to politics.

“Bushra Bibi was punished solely to cause me pain and exert pressure on me,” he claimed on X.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, however, said that such decisions rest with courts, Dawn reported.

“The government believes that the justice system, as outlined in Article 175, falls within the purview of the judiciary,” he said.

Tarar said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf should have presented its arguments more effectively in court. “They could have defended themselves in court rather than turning to the media, which would have been a better approach,” he said.