Pakistani Lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha Sentenced to 10 Years

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison following a trial regarding an alleged security breach during an English cricket team tour in October 2024. The couple faced charges of removing road barriers designated for a team security convoy and obstructing police officers at a major intersection in Islamabad. Both defendants have consistently denied any wrongdoing throughout the legal proceedings.

Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the court imposed 10-year prison terms on each defendant, alongside additional concurrent sentences for using force and obstructing public servants. Furthermore, the judges ordered both individuals to pay a financial penalty of 200,000 Pakistani Rupees each. During their trial statements, the pair maintained that they were prisoners of conscience enduring state persecution for resisting injustice and supporting human rights activism.

Pakistani human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha received ten-year prison sentences from an anti-terrorism court.

International organizations have sharply condemned the verdict and the handling of the judicial process. Amnesty International criticized the proceedings, asserting that the defendants were denied an open and fair trial, and pointed out that court hearings took place inside prison grounds behind a cage-like enclosure. Representatives for the rights group described the convictions as a severe indictment of the local justice system and claimed the lawyers were targeted specifically for exercising free expression and human rights advocacy.

The case represents the latest legal hurdle for the couple, who have faced multiple criminal matters over recent months. They were previously given lengthy sentences over social media content critical of the military, though Pakistan's Supreme Court later suspended those terms before the pair faced immediate rearrest in connection with separate demonstrations and protests. Mazari and Chattha are widely recognized for defending activists, journalists, and victims of enforced disappearances, while Mazari's mother previously served as a government minister under former prime minister Imran Khan.