ISLAMABAD — An anti-terrorism court on Thursday sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each over the removal of road barriers placed for the England cricket team in October 2024.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where the trial was held. The court gave each of them 10 years under the Anti-Terrorism Act and a fine of Rs100,000. It added two years and a Rs50,000 fine under Section 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code and one year with a Rs50,000 fine under Section 186 (obstructing a public servant). All the sentences run at the same time — a total of 10 years each — with credit under Section 382-B for time already in custody.
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 prosecution presented seven witnesses.
What the case is about
The case goes back to October 25, 2024, when the England team was touring Pakistan. Police say the couple removed barriers set up in Islamabad to secure the team’s route and clashed with traffic police. A case was registered the same day, with charges under the penal code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. HRCP, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, condemned the couple’s arrest that month and called the charges vague.
The couple were charged in court on October 7 this year and pleaded not guilty. Their statements were recorded on October 27, when the court also reserved its decision. A state counsel, Atif Mehmood, represented them after disputes over access to their own lawyers. Before the verdict, defence lawyer Aimal Mandokhail asked the court to delay its decision while the couple’s petitions were pending before the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court. The court went ahead.
The couple and their family respond
Mazari and Chattha have denied wrongdoing. In statements reported by Reuters, they said: “We are prisoners of conscience,” and said they were being targeted for their human rights work. In their recorded court statements, they called the case “nothing more than harassment.”
Her mother, Shireen Mazari, a former human rights minister, called the proceedings a “sham trial without any due process.” She told Reuters the couple “were not permitted to defend themselves through their own lawyer, and were not provided with key legal documents,” and said: “We will file a petition against the verdict in the Supreme Court.”
The prosecutor did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the verdict. Law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has repeatedly said the country’s judiciary is independent.
Rights groups react
Amnesty International called the convictions “an indictment of Pakistan’s justice system.” Yasmine Ahmed, the group’s senior director for regional human rights impact, said the anti-terrorism charges were being used “to punish Imaan and Hadi for their human rights advocacy,” and that the couple had been denied an open and fair trial. Amnesty urged the authorities to release them and drop all charges. Last month, 15 international organisations, including FIDH and OMCT, voiced concern over their detention.
A separate case — and why the two must not be merged
This is a different case from the social-media prosecution that first put the couple in prison this year. The two are legally separate.
In that other case, the couple were arrested on January 23, 2026, and a sessions court in Islamabad sentenced them the next day to a total of 17 years each under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) for social-media posts that prosecutors said were anti-state. Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka gave them five years and a Rs5 million fine each under Section 9, ten years and Rs30 million under Section 10, and two years and Rs1 million under Section 26-A — Rs36 million in fines each — and acquitted them on a hate-speech charge. They appealed to the Islamabad High Court. On September 17, 2026, the Supreme Court suspended the PECA sentences and granted bail. Police re-arrested the couple the same day, and they have remained in custody since, while the 2024 security case went to trial. Because the PECA sentences are suspended, Thursday’s 10-year term is not added to the 17-year term.
Who they are
Imaan Mazari is one of Pakistan’s best-known human rights lawyers. She has spoken out against enforced disappearances and has defended activists, minorities, journalists and people accused under the blasphemy laws, often without fee. She is the daughter of Shireen Mazari, who served as human rights minister in former prime minister Imran Khan’s cabinet. Chattha, also a human rights lawyer, has worked alongside her on many of the same cases.
What happens next
The family says it will petition the Supreme Court against Thursday’s verdict. The couple’s bail applications in a separate protest case are listed for November 3, and their PECA appeal remains before the Islamabad High Court. Until a higher court rules, both remain in Adiala jail.
Sources: Reuters; Dawn; Sabah News; Geo News via IANS; Al Jazeera with AFP; Amnesty International; The News; Pakistan Press Foundation.
