Pakistan ex-PM Khan and wife jailed for unlawful marriage

STORY: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Khan have been sentenced to seven years in prison and fined on Saturday. That's according to his party, who say a court ruled that their 2018 marriage broke the law.The Khans both denied wrongdoing.It was the third ruling against Khan this week, and comes ahead of national elections on Thursday that he is barred from contesting.71-year-old Khan has been sentenced to 10 years for leaking state secrets in recent days, and 14 years along with his wife for illegally selling state gifts. His representatives say he will launch appeals in all three cases.It was not immediately clear if his various sentences would run concurrently.Khan is in prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, while his wife will serve her sentence at their hilltop mansion in nearby Islamabad. He already faces a 10-year disqualification from holding public office.Here's Khan's lawyer, barrister Gohar Khan. “We were not allowed to cross-examine fully the witnesses of the prosecution. We were not allowed to produce the evidence during the cross examination. We were not allowed to produce our own evidence in our defense and that is absolutely violation of the fundamental rights that is guaranteed by the constitution. And we hope that we will file an appeal before the Islamabad High Court. We are very much hopeful that the conviction will be set aside and sentences will also be set aside, God willing.”The couple were also fined $1,800 each, according to ARY News.Bushra was accused of not completing the waiting period mandated by Islam, called "Iddat," after divorcing her previous husband and marrying Khan.The Khans signed their marriage contract in January 2018 in a secret ceremony, seven months before the former cricket superstar became prime minister for the first time.There was controversy over whether they had wed before the period was complete. After initial denials of the marriage, PTI confirmed it weeks later.