Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chattha sentenced to 10 years in prison

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Thursday sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in a security breach case, Aaj News reported.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Supra announced the verdict after the conclusion of the trial and completion of the legal proceedings. The hearing was held at a special court inside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi due to security concerns.

The court also imposed additional sentences of one year and two years on the couple on separate charges of obstructing and assaulting government servants, according to Reuters. The sentences will run concurrently.

According to the prosecution, the couple allegedly removed security barriers near Islamabad’s Zero Point on October 25, 2024, during a Test match between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi. They were also accused of obstructing official duties and assaulting police officers by slapping and punching them.

However, Mazari and Chattha have strongly denied the allegations, describing them as fabricated.

During a hearing at Adiala Jail on Tuesday, both defendants recorded their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), following the framing of charges while they were in custody. They said they were submitting their statements in protest.

In her statement, Mazari said she was on her way to an Anti-Terrorism Court to represent a client and was in a hurry to reach the hearing. She alleged that police had blocked the road in the name of security arrangements for the visiting cricket team, even though the team had already reached the stadium through an alternative route.

Mazari further claimed that police officers acknowledged there was no written order from a magistrate authorising the road closure. She said that when she requested the road be reopened in accordance with citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of movement, a plainclothes police officer threw an iron rod at her, injuring her. She maintained that her husband acted only to protect her.

She also submitted a medical report from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) as evidence, alleging that the prosecution deliberately withheld video evidence and failed to produce any independent or private witnesses.

Chattha endorsed his wife’s account, saying he had acted in response to the alleged attack on her and solely to protect her. He said the PIMS medical report supported their account.

He further alleged that investigative proceedings had unlawfully continued despite the Islamabad High Court suspending his judicial remand. He also claimed that witness statements had been recorded in his absence.

The couple maintained that the cases against them were linked to their legal work on enforced disappearances and their provision of pro bono legal assistance in human rights matters. They also alleged that, during the trial inside Adiala Jail, they were kept in a cage-like enclosure and denied access to their lawyers.

After hearing arguments from the defence and reviewing the documents presented, Judge Supra announced the sentences.

The verdict can be challenged before a higher court. The couple has the legal right to appeal, with the decision expected to be contested before the Islamabad High Court.

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.”

The public prosecutor did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Mazari and Chattha 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. Although the Supreme Court suspended those sentences on September 17, police re-arrested them the same day in the security breach case.

“We will file a petition against the verdict in the Supreme Court,” Mazari’s mother said.