Amnesty International on Thursday condemned Pakistan’s Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) over the sentencing of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges stemming from a 2024 traffic barrier dispute.
Yasmine Ahmed, a senior director at Amnesty International, stated:
These convictions are an indictment of Pakistan’s justice system. This was not just Imaan and Hadi on trial, it was a test of the judiciary’s ability to uphold the principles of justice and the right to fair trial. It has failed that test miserably. It is clear that these ‘anti-terrorism’ charges are being used to punish Imaan and Hadi for their human rights advocacy.
ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra handed down the verdict inside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the couple was tried in custody. The court convicted each lawyer on three counts, imposing 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a 100,000 Pakistani rupee fine under Section 7(h) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (ATA), a one-year prison term and a 50,000 rupee fine under Section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants, and a two-year term and a 50,000 rupee fine under Section 353 for using criminal force to deter public servants from discharging official duties. The court granted the benefit of Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and ordered all sentences to run concurrently.
The prosecution originated from a First Information Report registered at Islamabad’s Kohsar Police Station alleging that in October 2024, the couple removed roadblocks along a route secured for the visiting England national cricket team. In the written judgment, Sipra stated that while removing a road barrier appeared ordinary on the surface, disrupting security arrangements for international visitors created a sense of terror, citing the 2009 militant attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
Throughout the trial, Mazari and Chattha maintained their innocence, pleading not guilty after their October 7 indictment and recording formal defense statements under Section 342 of the CrPC. According to Front Line Defenders, the couple contended that the charges were fabricated in order to shield police officers from accountability, stating that they were also prevented from effectively communicating with their legal counsel due to being confined to a cage in the courtroom. Defense lawyers had petitioned to stay the verdict, arguing that the ATC lacked authority to rule while appeals challenging the framing of terrorism charges remained pending before the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The ruling follows a broader pattern of criminal proceedings targeting legal defenders in Pakistan. In January, a court sentenced Mazari and Chattha to 17 years in prison over the content of their social media posts before the Supreme Court later suspended those sentences on September 17 pending appeal. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also voiced concerns regarding the principle of proportionality and the right to a fair trial, calling for the verdict to be overturned on appeal and for the couple to be released.
Amnesty International noted that conducting closed hearings inside Adiala Jail, where the couple was denied open court participation, violated fair trial guarantees under Article 10A of the Constitution of Pakistan. Defense counsel announced plans to appeal the conviction before the Islamabad High Court.
