Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chattha sentenced to 10 years in breach case

An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each on Thursday in a case concerning an alleged security-route breach. Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict at Adiala Jail, where the trial had been conducted.

The court imposed the sentences under three separate legal provisions and also fined both defendants. The judgment had been reserved on October 27 after the completion of final arguments, with the court previously announcing that its decision would be delivered on October 29.

The case originated in 2024 and relates to accusations that the couple disrupted the secured route of an international cricket team and encouraged public unrest. Prosecutors alleged that they removed barriers placed along the route. Both lawyers denied the allegations after their indictment on October 7 and pleaded not guilty when the formal trial began.

A state-appointed defence counsel, Atif Mehmood, conducted the cross-examination of witnesses during the proceedings. The prosecution presented seven witnesses, while Mazari-Hazir and Chattha recorded their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on October 27 before the final arguments concluded.

In their concluding statements, the couple described the prosecution as harassment connected to their legal and human rights activities. They alleged that the proceedings formed part of a broader pattern of reprisals against them. Their assertions remain their defence position and do not alter the trial court’s verdict.

The lawyers had approached the Supreme Court earlier in the week to challenge an Islamabad High Court order that declined to suspend the trial. The high court had also been considering their appeals against an earlier anti-terrorism court decision that rejected objections to the framing of charges and the inclusion of terrorism-related provisions.

Mazari-Hazir and Chattha have faced several legal proceedings during the year. They were arrested in January in another case arising from a protest outside the Islamabad High Court and allegations involving the president of the high court bar association. A sessions court later sentenced them to 17 years under multiple provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act in a separate social-media case.

The Supreme Court suspended those sentences on September 17 and ordered their release while their appeals remained pending before the Islamabad High Court. Hours after that relief, Islamabad police arrested the couple again in connection with the security-route case registered at Kohsar Police Station on the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.

The latest convictions add another major development to the continuing litigation involving the couple. Further proceedings may follow through appeals and the challenges already pending before the superior courts, where questions concerning the trial process and the terrorism-related provisions are under consideration.