Last Updated on October 29, 2026 by YeJahan
MUHAMMAD BIN SAEED
ISLAMABAD (Oct 29): Human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison each by an anti-terrorism court in a high-profile security breach case.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where the trial was conducted. The 10-year sentences were handed down under three separate legal provisions, alongside unspecified monetary fines.
The convictions stem from a 2024 case in which the state accused the legal couple of disrupting the security route of an international cricket team, removing police barriers, and inciting public unrest. Both Imaan and Hadi had pleaded not guilty when indicted on October 7. Prior to Thursday’s ruling, they were out on bail in this specific matter.
The proceedings concluded rapidly after the court appointed state counsel Atif Mehmood to handle the defence. Mehmood cross-examined the prosecution’s seven witnesses. On October 27, the accused recorded their final statements under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and final arguments concluded the same day.
The verdict follows an aggressive legal battle by the couple to halt the proceedings. On Monday, they approached the Supreme Court to challenge an October 19 Islamabad High Court (IHC) order that refused to stay the jail trial. The IHC had been reviewing their appeals against an earlier anti-terrorism court decision that dismissed their challenges to the terrorism charges and the framing of indictments. The high court had issued notices but did not stop the trial from reaching its conclusion.
In their Section 342 statements, Imaan and Hadi fiercely rejected the charges, characterizing the prosecution as political retribution for their pro bono legal advocacy for marginalised and oppressed communities.
“The evidence produced during this trial is not against us, but in fact a charge sheet against [the prosecution] and the state,” their matching statements read. “I am a prisoner of conscience who has been at the receiving end of state persecution.”
Imaan criticized the mechanics of the trial, noting that she and her husband were kept in an iron cage during court appearances, which severely restricted confidential communication with their legal team.
“From day one, our constitutional rights to fair trial, due process, and basic human dignity have been infringed,” she stated. “We are being made an example to further cement the chilling effect against those who stand against tyranny, oppression, and injustice.”
She added that the legal ordeal has exacted a steep personal toll, noting that the couple has spent the third year of their marriage incarcerated and separated.
The 10-year sentence is the latest development in a complex web of legal actions against the couple. They have been in custody since January 23, initially arrested following a protest outside the IHC that involved allegations of manhandling the IHC Bar Association president.
The day after that initial arrest, a sessions court swiftly sentenced them to 17 years in prison under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over controversial social media posts. That ruling drew widespread condemnation from international bar associations and United Nations rights experts.
On September 17, the Supreme Court suspended the 17-year sentences and ordered their release pending a final IHC appeal. However, the relief lasted only hours; Islamabad police immediately re-arrested the couple outside the prison gates in connection with this security breach case. The underlying complaint for the route disruption had been registered months prior, on March 22, 2023, by City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio at the Kohsar police station.
Copyright YeJahan News Network, 2026
