An anti-terrorism court has sentenced human rights lawyers in Pakistan Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each over alleged disruption of security for England’s cricket team. Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra of the Anti-Terrorism Court announced the verdict on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
Each was convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 — a law that treats certain acts as terrorism-related offences — and fined 100,000 Pakistani rupees (about $360). The court also imposed one-year terms and 50,000-rupee fines under Section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants, and two-year terms under Section 353 for using criminal force against public servants. All sentences run together, so the maximum time under this conviction is 10 years. The court acquitted them of criminal intimidation, conspiracy and rioting charges.
What the court said happened
Prosecutors said that on Oct. 25, 2024, while England’s cricket team was in Pakistan, Mazari-Hazir and Chattha removed road barriers on a route set aside for the visiting side’s security convoy and obstructed police at Zero Point, a major junction in Islamabad. The prosecution argued that those acts put the team’s security at risk and risked public disorder.
In its judgment, the court held that the couple shared a common intention to undermine security by pressuring personnel. It referred to the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, saying any assault on officers protecting an international sporting group could spread fear. The judge said freedom of movement is a constitutional right but remains subject to the law and cannot justify attacks on law-enforcement officers.
How the couple and rights groups responded
Mazari-Hazir and Chattha denied the allegations throughout. They said the case was part of a wider effort to punish them for human rights advocacy and legal help for marginalized communities, including Christians. In statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, both called themselves prisoners of conscience and said state institutions had breached their rights to a fair trial, due process and human dignity.
“The evidence produced during this trial is not against us, but in fact a charge sheet against (prosecution witnesses)/police officials and the state,” they said. Mazari-Hazir objected to hearings inside the jail and to appearing behind a cage-like structure that, she said, blocked effective contact with their lawyers and the judge. “We are being made an example to further cement the chilling effect against those who stand (or want to stand) against tyranny, oppression and injustice,” she said. Chattha said he was being punished for supporting his wife’s activism. They also said they had spent the third year of their marriage in prison.
Amnesty International condemned the convictions, saying the process fell short of international standards for an open and fair trial. Yasmine Ahmed, the group’s senior director for regional human rights impact, said: “These convictions are an indictment of Pakistan’s justice system.” She added that the couple were targeted for refusing to stop their rights work and for peaceful expression and assembly. The group also raised concern about the cage-like arrangement during hearings.
Court process and what comes next
The court appointed state counsel Atif Mehmood to represent them. The prosecution called seven witnesses; the defence cross-examined them. The couple recorded their statements on Oct. 27. They had gone to the Supreme Court after an Islamabad High Court order on Oct. 19 refused to suspend the trial, and the high court had earlier issued notices on appeals against an Oct. 10 anti-terrorism court order that dismissed challenges to the framing of charges and terrorism-related provisions.
The pair have been behind bars since Jan. 23, when they were arrested in a separate case involving an alleged altercation outside the Islamabad High Court. Criticism of the treatment of human rights lawyers in Pakistan has focused on the jail-based trial and how the accused appeared in court. Further appeals and related cases remain part of the legal picture around the couple.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Oct. 25, 2024: Prosecutors say Mazari-Hazir and Chattha removed barriers and obstructed police at Zero Point, Islamabad, during England cricket team security arrangements.
- Jan. 23: The couple are arrested in a separate case linked to an alleged altercation outside the Islamabad High Court; they remain in custody thereafter.
- Oct. 10: An anti-terrorism court dismisses their petitions challenging the framing of charges and terrorism-related provisions.
- Oct. 19: The Islamabad High Court refuses to suspend the trial; the couple approach the Supreme Court.
- Oct. 27: Both record statements denying the charges and calling the prosecution politically motivated.
- Oct. 29: Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra sentences each to 10 years under the Anti-Terrorism Act, with concurrent lesser terms and fines.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Islamabad ke do human rights vakil, Imaan Mazari-Hazir aur un ke husband Hadi Chattha, ko anti-terrorism court ne 10 saal qaid ki saza di hai. Ilzaam yeh tha ke woh England cricket team ki security ke raaste par rukawaton se takraaye. Un dono ne ilzamat se inkaar kiya aur kaha ke yeh un ke huqooq ke kaam ki saza hai. Ordinary logon ke liye yeh case yaad dilata hai ke court ke faisle aur jail ki saza seedha logon ki azadi aur un ke kaam par asar daalti hai.
