Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha receive ten-year sentences.
The case concerns a security breach during a 2024 cricket tour.
The couple deny the charges and plan a Supreme Court appeal.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to ten years in prison on Thursday over a security breach case during a cricket tour in 2024.
The verdict was delivered at Adiala Jail, where the couple has been imprisoned since earlier this year. They were charged with removing road barriers and preventing police officers from carrying out their duties in Islamabad, allegations they have denied, Reuters reported.
The court also handed them separate one-year and two-year prison terms for obstructing and assaulting government officials. All the sentences will run at the same time.
Mazari has received international recognition for campaigning against the enforced disappearance of political activists and defending the rights of minorities and journalists. Her work, along with Chattha’s, has earned them support from rights organisations that have criticised their imprisonment.
In statements reviewed by Reuters, both rejected the allegations against them. "We are prisoners of conscience," they said, arguing that they were being targeted because of their human rights work.
Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has repeatedly maintained that the country’s judiciary functions independently.
What Was The Case?
The couple’s legal troubles began with their arrest on January 23 over social media posts that prosecutors described as anti-state. A sessions court sentenced both to 17 years in prison the following day under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
The Supreme Court suspended those sentences on September 17. However, police arrested Mazari and Chattha again that same day in a separate case involving a security breach.
Mazari’s mother, Shireen Mazari, a former human rights minister in jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s cabinet, alleged that the couple was denied a fair chance to defend themselves. Speaking to Reuters, she said they "were not permitted to defend themselves through their own lawyer, and were not provided with key legal documents."
The public prosecutor did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Shireen Mazari said the family would challenge the latest ruling. "We will file a petition against the verdict in the Supreme Court," she said.
