LAHORE — A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Thursday sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison in a security breach case, her family said, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters
The judge announced the verdict at Adiala Jail, where the couple have been held since earlier this year. The court also imposed additional sentences of one year and two years on separate charges of obstructing and assaulting government servants, and those sentences will run concurrently with the 10-year term, Reuters reported.
In the judgment, obtained by AFP and reported by Al Jazeera, the court said the couple put the England team's security at risk and acted to create a sense of terror. The case goes back to October 25, 2024, when England were touring Pakistan and police say the couple removed barriers set up in Islamabad to secure the team's route and clashed with traffic police. The prosecution presented seven witnesses, the couple were charged on October 7 this year and pleaded not guilty, and their statements were recorded on October 27, when the court reserved its decision.
Source: AFP via Al Jazeera, reported by Zark News
Under the Anti-Terrorism Act the court gave each of them 10 years and a fine of Rs100,000 — yaani one lakh rupees — according to the AFP account of the judgment.
Family says defence was denied, appeal planned
Mazari's mother, Shireen Mazari, who served as human rights minister in jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's cabinet, told Reuters that Mazari and Chattha were not permitted to defend themselves through their own lawyer and were not provided with key legal documents. "We will file a petition against the verdict in the Supreme Court," she said.
Source: Reuters
Mazari has won international recognition for speaking out against the disappearances of political activists and for defending minorities and journalists, and rights groups have condemned the couple's imprisonment, Reuters reported. In statements seen by Reuters, the couple denied the charges.
A separate social-media case came first
The couple have been in custody since their arrest on January 23 in a separate case over social media posts that prosecutors said were anti-state. A sessions court sentenced them each to 17 years the next day under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. The Supreme Court suspended those sentences on September 17, but police re-arrested them the same day in the security breach case, Reuters reported.
The family says the couple's bail applications in a separate protest case are listed for November 3 and their appeal in the social-media case remains before the Islamabad High Court, according to the AFP account. Until a higher court rules, both remain in Adiala Jail.