Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former leader, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets, according to a statement issued by his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday.
The hearing was held on Tuesday in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, which is already home to Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who are both imprisoned for corruption.
The men “have been sentenced 10 years each in a sham case with no access to media or public in the Cypher Case,” PTI stated, adding that their legal team “will challenge the decision in a higher court” in hopes of having the penalties suspended.
The punishment is the latest in a line of judicial fights for Khan, and it comes ahead of parliamentary elections on February 8, which the ousted former leader will be ineligible to run due to his previous conviction.
Khan was sentenced on Tuesday in what has become known as the “cypher case” after being convicted of leaking an encrypted diplomatic cable written by a Pakistani diplomat in March 2022, based on a meeting with a US State Department official.
Khan claimed the memo demonstrated that his downfall in a 2022 parliamentary no-confidence vote was part of a scheme to remove him from office.
The former prime minister regularly claimed that Pakistani leaders, the country’s powerful military, and the United States plotted to remove him from office. All parties dispute Khan’s allegations.
In the weeks following his dismissal, Khan drew tens of thousands of people to nationwide protests, which became a staple in the country’s tumultuous political scene, with his followers lining the streets to defend him.
Since then, the cricket icon turned politician has faced a slew of legal troubles, with hundreds of cases pending against him.
Khan has been in custody since August, when he was convicted guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison.
Despite being ineligible to run in the upcoming election, he remains a significant political force due to his great popularity. Khan argues that the charges against him are politically motivated, which authorities reject.
TV stations are prohibited from broadcasting Khan’s speeches, and many of his PTI party colleagues have been imprisoned.
