Pakistan: l'ancien Premier ministre Imran Khan condamné à 17 ans de prison
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced on Saturday by a court to 17 years in prison for breach of trust and corruption, in connection with gifts the jailed leader received while in office.
The couple were both sentenced to 10 years in prison for breach of trust and to seven years for corruption.
Mr. Khan has faced a multitude of legal cases since his government was ousted in 2022.
Imprisoned since 2023, he denies any wrongdoing and denounces politically motivated prosecutions.
Under Pakistani law, government officials must declare all gifts they receive, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value or buy them back at a reduced price.
The case for which the former head of government was convicted concerns a set of jewelry from the Italian luxury brand Bulgari, given by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Imran Khan and his wife in May 2021, and whose value the Pakistani leader allegedly undervalued.
This latest trial is separate from an earlier proceeding, related to luxury watches also gifted by the Saudi prince, in which Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison and his wife to seven years.
In a post on the social network X, the party of the former Prime Minister, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, claimed that this conviction by a "puppet court" was only aimed at prolonging "the illegal and unjust imprisonment of Imran Khan".
The party spokesman, Syed Zulfikhar Bukhari, told AFP that the ruling ignored "the fundamental principles of justice".
Imran Khan's family, for its part, has intensified its efforts to draw attention to the conditions of the former leader's detention.
In a recent interview with the British channel Sky News, his son, Kasim Khan, claimed that his father was "in total isolation" and not even allowed to communicate with the guards.
"These are all sorts of psychological torture tactics. (He has) no contact with family, no contact with his personal doctor, nothing like that. They are using these tactics to try to isolate him completely," he said.
The Pakistani government has repeatedly rejected such allegations.
AFP
Commentaires (8)
Les histoires de réconciliation c'est l'autre visage de la mal gouvernance.
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