ISLAMABAD, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A special court on Saturday sentenced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years' imprisonment each in a graft case, court officials said.
Special Judge Central Shahrukh Arjumand announced the verdict after conducting around 80 hearings in the "Toshakhana 2" case, and according to the judgment, the court awarded 10 years' imprisonment to each of the accused, along with an additional seven years' imprisonment under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) 1947.
Both convicts were also fined a total of 16.4 million Pakistani rupees (about 58,000 U.S. dollars), the judgment said.
The court noted that while determining the sentence, it took into account Imran Khan's old age and the fact that Bushra Bibi is a woman, adopting a lenient approach in awarding a lesser punishment.
The case is related to the alleged illegal acquisition of an expensive jewelry set received as a gift from the Saudi crown prince.
According to the Federal Investigation Agency, the jewelry set was valued at more than 71 million rupees, a valuation also confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, the prosecution argued that the accused had the gift appraised at only 5.9 million rupees by a private firm, causing a significant loss to the national exchequer.
The jewelry set included a necklace, bracelet, ring and earrings, and was neither deposited in the repository nor correctly declared, the prosecution added. (1 U.S. dollar equals about 280 Pakistani rupees) ■