Court jails rights couple for 10 years

ISLAMABAD:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Abdul Hadi Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in a case involving the removal of security barriers.

The couple was arrested by the capital police in October 2024 on terrorism charges after a confrontation with traffic police, who had barricaded the area to secure the movement of the English cricket team. They were accused of interfering with government protocol, leading to their detention under various sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Penal Code.

On October 27, the court reserved the verdict after the conclusion of the trial at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, where both accused recorded their statements, and the state counsel completed final arguments. ATC framed charges against them on October 7, and the court subsequently recorded statements from all seven prosecution witnesses. The trial was later shifted to Adiala Jail amid disputes over the accused's production in court and defence lawyers' access to their clients.

During Thursday's hearing, presided over by ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, both the defence and prosecution completed their final arguments. Prosecutor Raja Naveed Hussain Kayani concluded his submissions before the court.

Defence counsel Aimal Khan Mandokhail also submitted a written application seeking to defer the verdict until pending petitions before the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court (IHC) were decided.

"Until our petitions are heard, the court cannot legally announce its verdict," Mandokhail argued.

He further informed the court that an application seeking the transfer of the case was pending before the IHC.

The court subsequently adjourned proceedings until 1pm, and later announced its verdict.

According to the court order available to The Express Tribune, both Imaan and Hadi were convicted under Section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and sentenced to "1-year Simple Imprisonment" with a fine of Rs50,000 each.

"In case of non-payment of the fine, both would undergo an additional one month's simple imprisonment," the order stated.

The court also convicted both under Section 353 of the PPC and sentenced them to "2 years' simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs50,000 each," while in case of non-payment, they would undergo an additional three months' simple imprisonment.

Both were further convicted under Section 7(h) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, as defined under Section 6(2)(m).

Under this provision, Imaan and Haadi were also sentenced to "ten years (RI) with a fine of Rs 100,000 each."

The order further stated that both would undergo an additional six months' simple imprisonment if they failed to pay the fine.

The order further stated that "All the sentences awarded" to the respective convicts "shall run concurrently".