Pakistan rights activist Imaan Mazari and husband jailed for 10 years
Summary
A Pakistani antiterrorism court sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges. The case concerns their removal of road barriers on a route designated for the England cricket team in October 2024; the couple denied the charges and said they were being targeted for their human rights work.Key Facts
- Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict on Thursday after the trial was held inside Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.
- The court said the barrier removal put the England cricket team’s security at risk, while describing the incident as an ordinary removal of a barrier.
- Mazari and Chattha were indicted on October 7 and pleaded not guilty.
- The couple have been in custody since January 23 in a separate case involving their social media posts.
- A lower court previously sentenced them to 17 years each under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
- Pakistan’s Supreme Court suspended those sentences, but police re-arrested the couple in the security breach case.
- Mazari’s mother, Shireen Mazari, said the couple were denied a fair chance to defend themselves and said the defence would appeal to the Supreme Court.
- Amnesty International condemned the convictions and said the charges were being used to punish the lawyers for their human rights advocacy.
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