RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Thursday sentenced lawyer and human rights activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in the security breach case. The case, registered at Aabpara Police Station, stems from allegations that the lawyer couple posed a security risk by interfering in state affairs during the visit of an international cricket team in October 2024.
According to the court’s order, the lawyer couple was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and fined Rs50,000 under Section 353, while Section 186 carries a one-year prison term and an additional fine of Rs50,000.
Mazari and Chattha were sentenced to 10 years each under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997 and fines of Rs100,000.
The court, however, granted the defendants the benefit of Section 382.
The court ruled that all sentences awarded to the lawyer couple would run concurrently, meaning they would serve a total of 10 years in prison.
The lawyer for Mazari and Chattha had sought a postponement of the verdict, arguing that their petitions were still pending before the Supreme Court and the high court.
“The decision should be postponed until the petitions pending before the Supreme Court and high court are decided,” lawyer Aimal Mandokhail said.
He further argued that the court could not legally announce its decision while the applications remained under consideration.
Mandokhail also said that the defence’s application seeking the transfer of the case was pending before the high court.
ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. Addressing the defendants, the judge said they had faced various allegations, noting that the prosecution had presented seven witnesses during the trial. The court indicted Mazari and Chattha on October 7 in the case registered on October 25, 2024.
A state counsel was appointed by the court to represent the defendants during the proceedings. State counsel Atif Mahmood cross-examined the prosecution witnesses.
The prosecution presented a total of seven witnesses before the court. The lawyer couple has alleged that the cases against them were “retaliatory measures” for their human rights work and provision of free legal services. Mazari, in her statement recorded under Section 342, alleged that she had been rearrested at Adiala jail after being subjected to violence despite securing bail from the Supreme Court.
The sentencing in the case comes days after the couple approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) October 19 order refusing to grant them interim relief.
The IHC had previously heard their appeals against an ATC order rejecting their pleas against the framing of charges and the inclusion of terrorism-related provisions.
The high court had said that it would decide how to proceed after receiving responses from the parties.
Rearrests
The lawyer couple has been in custody since their arrest on January 23 in a case registered against them over a protest outside the Islamabad High Court. A day later, a sessions court sentenced them to 17 years on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) in a case related to controversial social media posts. On September 17, following months of proceedings, the Supreme Court suspended the couple’s sentences in a case related to controversial tweets and granted them bail against surety bonds worth Rs200,000 each, until the final decision on the case pending before the Islamabad High Court.
However, the relief was short-lived. Hours later, Islamabad police arrested the couple again in connection with another case and produced them before an anti-terrorism court (ATC).
According to the FIR, Mazari and her husband were accused of chanting anti-government slogans and blocking roads during a protest. –Agencies
