Former prime minister Imran Khan urged on Sunday the accountability court judge to release his wife Bushra Bibi in the new state gifts case against them as his legal battles continue.

Hopes for the release of Khan and Bibi were dashed on Saturday when the national-graft buster arrested them in a state gifts reference hours after a court acquitted both in the unlawful marriage case. Khan is accused of illegally acquiring and selling 74 watches as the prime minister, according to the inquiry report.

The former prime minister has long denied such accusations against him and accused the security establishment of cases against him.

The jail trial notification has been issued under Section 16B of the NAB Ordinance 1999. The notification states that the accountability court may conduct the trial of the accused persons in jail if deemed necessary in view of the law and order situation.

At the outset of the hearing, Khan told accountability court judge Muhammad Ali Warraich that he would walk out if media persons were not allowed in the courtroom. On his insistence, the court ordered reporters should be allowed in the courtroom and the hearing started.

“Me and my wife have no link to the Toshakhana,” Khan told the judge when the hearing resumed. “I have read the Quran four times in jail and Allah has placed a great responsibility on the judges.”

He claimed that his wife was being jailed only to inflict him pain.

“There is no difference between NAB Chairman and prostitutes,” Khan said while accusing the anti-graft body’s chief of compromising with his conscience.

Without naming the individual, Khan claimed that his wife was being “targeted” by the “king”. He said: “I removed him from the post of Inter-Services Intelligence chief and my wife did not make any recommendation for that.”

The former premier urged the judge to imprison him and free his wife. “You are answerable to Allah, not the ISI,” Khan told the judge.

Khan alleged that accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir, who convicted Khan and his spouse Bibi in the Toshakhana case, had made a decision under duress. He also claimed that a former prime minister was informed about a new case at midnight, right before a new case was to be heard in the morning.

The PTI founder accused the National Accountability Bureau officials of being “robots” who can be made to do anything by paying them salaries.

In a previous reference case where he was convicted, Khan said the jewellery set worth Rs180 million that was in their possession was later shown to be worth over Rs3 billion.

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He said that the re-arrest of his wife was a grave injustice and that earlier officials like Aftab Sultan had resigned because they were pressured to make such “wrong decisions.”

According to Khan, a new case was “fabricated” against him because the authorities found that the jewellery set from the previous case was still in their possession. Khan and Bibi were seated together during the court hearing.

Later, the court sent them to jail on an eight-day physical remand in the case.