An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in the 2024 security breach case, Dawn and Geo News reported.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict at Adiala Jail, where the trial was held.
The sentences
According to the court’s order, the couple were convicted under three provisions:
- Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997: 10 years each and a fine of Rs100,000.
- Section 353: two years and a fine of Rs50,000.
- Section 186: one year and a fine of Rs50,000.
The sentences will run concurrently, so each will serve 10 years.
The case
The case was registered in October 2024 over the alleged disruption of an international cricket team’s security route and incitement to public unrest. The couple were accused of removing barriers from the route. They were indicted on October 7 this year and pleaded not guilty.
The court appointed a state counsel, Atif Mehmood, to defend them; he cross-examined the prosecution’s seven witnesses.
“The decision should be postponed”
The couple’s lawyer, Aimal Mandokhail, asked the court to delay the verdict because their petitions were still pending. “The decision should be postponed until the petitions pending before the Supreme Court and high court are decided,” he said, arguing that the court could not legally rule while they were under consideration.
On Monday, the couple asked the Supreme Court to overturn the Islamabad High Court’s October 19 order refusing to stay the trial. A defence application to transfer the case is also pending before the high court.
“A prisoner of conscience”
In their statements recorded on October 27 under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, both denied the charges and said they were being targeted for their human rights work and free legal help to marginalised communities.
“I am a prisoner of conscience who has been at the receiving end of state persecution,” the statements read. Imaan said the couple had been kept in a cage during the jail trial, which prevented them from speaking properly to their counsel or the court. “From day one, our constitutional rights to fair trial, due process and basic human dignity have been infringed,” she said.
Background: a year in and out of jail
The couple have been in custody since January 23, when they were arrested over a protest outside the Islamabad High Court. A day later, a sessions court sentenced them to 17 years under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act over social media posts, convictions widely condemned by lawyers and UN experts.
On September 17, the Supreme Court suspended those sentences and ordered their release on bail. Hours later, Islamabad police arrested them again in this case.
Why it matters
The verdict will be read far beyond the courtroom. Imaan Mazari is one of Pakistan’s best-known rights lawyers, and the couple say the cases are punishment for their rights work and free legal help to marginalised communities. Lawyers’ groups and UN experts have already criticised the earlier convictions.
What happens next: the verdict can be challenged in the high court, and the pending Supreme Court petition on the jail trial could now become central. The key question is whether higher courts will rule on the fairness of a trial held inside a jail, with a court-appointed defence, while their own challenges were still undecided.
This article draws on reporting by Dawn and Geo News.
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