A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Thursday, 29 October 2026, sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in a case arising from a confrontation over security barriers during a visiting cricket team's tour. The verdict, delivered inside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail where the trial was held, immediately drew condemnation from rights groups and from the couple themselves, who say they are being punished for their legal and advocacy work rather than for any genuine security offence.

The sentences are the latest turn in a legal saga that has already seen the couple jailed, freed by the country's highest court, and re-arrested within hours — a sequence that has made their case a symbol, for critics of Pakistan's authorities, of how terrorism and cybercrime laws can be deployed against dissenting voices.

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The verdict at Adiala Jail

Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the sentences at Adiala Jail, where the couple have been held since earlier this year. Each received 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 rupees (about $361) under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act, alongside shorter sentences — one year for obstructing public servants and two years on an assault-related charge — that will run concurrently, meaning the effective term is 10 years. The court also granted credit for time already spent in detention in the case.

According to a copy of the 22-page judgment obtained by news agencies, the judge held that putting the visiting team's security at risk "clearly shows the intentions and objective of the accused to create a sense of terror". The ruling followed final arguments on 27 October, after which the verdict had been reserved for two days.

A road closure in October 2024

The case dates back to 25 October 2024, when England's cricket team was playing a Test match in Rawalpindi and security arrangements in nearby Islamabad included road closures and barriers. Prosecutors accused Mazari and Chattha of removing barriers at Islamabad's Zero Point, obstructing government officials and assaulting police personnel, thereby disrupting the security route and inciting public unrest.

A case was formally registered at Islamabad's Kohsar police station on 22 March 2025, following a complaint by City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio. The couple were indicted on 7 October 2026 and pleaded not guilty. Their defence argued that police had assaulted Mazari-Hazir during the confrontation and that the terrorism charges were retaliation for the couple's human rights work.

A trial conducted behind bars

The proceedings themselves have become a central part of the controversy. The trial was conducted inside Adiala Jail rather than in an open courtroom, and the defence was handled by a state-appointed counsel, Atif Mehmood, who cross-examined the prosecution's seven witnesses. Mazari's mother, Shireen Mazari, told reporters that her daughter and son-in-law "were not permitted to defend themselves through their own lawyer, and were not provided with key legal documents".

The couple had also sought to halt the trial: on Monday they approached the Supreme Court to challenge an Islamabad High Court order of 19 October refusing to stay proceedings. The high court had earlier heard their appeals against a 10 October anti-terrorism court order dismissing challenges to the framing of charges and the inclusion of terrorism provisions, issuing notices and saying it would decide how to proceed after receiving responses.

In statements seen by news agencies, the couple denied the charges outright. "We are prisoners of conscience," they said, adding that they were being targeted for their human rights work and "being made an example to further cement the chilling effect against those who stand against tyranny, oppression and injustice". Their counsel, Zainab Janjua, confirmed the family would challenge the decision, saying: "We will file a petition against the verdict in the Supreme Court."

Two cases, one couple

Thursday's verdict is separate from an earlier case that has already drawn international criticism. The couple were arrested on 23 January 2026 in a case over social media posts that prosecutors described as anti-state, and a sessions court sentenced each of them to 17 years the next day under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. On 17 September, Pakistan's Supreme Court suspended those sentences — only for police to re-arrest the couple the same day in the security-barrier case.

That sequence prompted sharp reactions from international rights organisations. Human Rights Watch urged Pakistani authorities to "stop using criminal prosecutions to punish lawyers engaged in peaceful dissent" and called for their immediate release, while Amnesty International described the re-arrest as a "terrible injustice", saying the charges were "not only absurd but an insult to their lifelong commitment to human rights".

Pakistan's law minister, Azam Nazeer Tarar, has repeatedly maintained that the country's judiciary is independent. The public prosecutor did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the verdict.

Who Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha are

Mazari, a lawyer who has won international recognition for her advocacy, has spoken out against the enforced disappearances of political activists and has defended minorities, journalists and people alleging abuses by security agencies. Chattha, also a lawyer, has worked alongside her on many of those cases. Their prosecutions have drawn support from rights groups that have condemned their imprisonment as part of a broader squeeze on lawyers, journalists and activists.

Mazari's mother, Shireen Mazari, served as human rights minister in the cabinet of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan — a connection that, for the couple's supporters, underscores how thoroughly Pakistan's political and legal battles have become entangled.

The wider crackdown on dissent

The verdict lands at a moment of intense pressure on civic space in Pakistan. Anti-terrorism courts, designed for militant violence, are increasingly used for cases involving protests, road blockages and online speech, and the line between a public-order offence and a terrorism charge has become a subject of fierce legal debate. Critics argue that the terrorism label carries not only far heavier sentences but also a stigma that follows defendants long after any sentence ends.

For the government, the argument runs the other way: that security arrangements around high-profile visitors, in a country where cricket teams have previously been attacked, cannot be treated as a minor matter, and that the courts, not the executive, decide guilt. Thursday's judgment leans firmly on that logic, treating the alleged disruption of a security route as a matter of public safety rather than of protest.

What neither side disputes is the verdict's significance. A decade-long sentence for two lawyers over a road-barrier dispute is, by any measure, an extraordinary outcome — and one that will now be tested before the Supreme Court, where the questions about the fairness of the trial, the use of terrorism provisions and the couple's right to their own counsel will be litigated all over again.

What happens next

The family's immediate step is an appeal to the Supreme Court, where they will ask the court to overturn both the conviction and the sentence. International attention is likely to intensify: the couple's case has already been raised by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and foreign governments and bar associations have in the past weighed in on the treatment of Pakistani lawyers.

Domestically, the verdict may also sharpen the debate over anti-terrorism courts themselves. If the Supreme Court upholds the sentences, it will entrench a broad reading of terrorism law that covers disruption of security arrangements. If it overturns them, it will be read as a rebuke to the use of such courts against activists — and a rare judicial check on a prosecution that has already survived one Supreme Court intervention.

For Mazari and Chattha, the immediate reality is simpler and grimmer: they remain in Adiala Jail, facing a decade behind bars unless the appeal succeeds.

Key takeaways

  • A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison each on 29 October 2026.
  • The case stems from a confrontation over security barriers at Islamabad's Zero Point on 25 October 2024, during an England cricket team's visit.
  • Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra delivered the verdict at Adiala Jail, imposing 10 years under the Anti-Terrorism Act plus a 100,000-rupee fine each, with shorter concurrent sentences.
  • The couple denied the charges, calling themselves "prisoners of conscience" targeted for their human rights work; their family will appeal to the Supreme Court.
  • The verdict is separate from a social-media case in which the couple received 17-year sentences in January 2026, suspended by the Supreme Court in September before their same-day re-arrest.
  • Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned the prosecutions; Pakistan's law minister insists the judiciary is independent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha?

They are Pakistani human rights lawyers, married to each other, known for defending minorities, journalists and people alleging abuses by security agencies, and for speaking out against enforced disappearances of political activists.

What were they convicted of?

They were convicted under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act and provisions on obstructing public servants and assault, over allegations that they removed security barriers and disrupted a security route during a visiting England cricket team's tour in October 2024. They denied the charges.

What sentence did they receive?

Each received 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 rupees (about $361), plus shorter sentences of one and two years on separate charges that run concurrently, so the effective term is 10 years, with credit for time already served in detention.

Why is the case controversial?

Critics, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, say the couple were prosecuted for their human rights work, were tried inside Adiala Jail, and were represented by a state-appointed counsel rather than their own lawyer. The couple themselves say they are "prisoners of conscience" being made an example of.

Is this their only case?

No. In a separate case over social media posts, they were sentenced to 17 years each in January 2026 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. The Supreme Court suspended those sentences on 17 September 2026, but police re-arrested them the same day in the security-barrier case.

What happens next?

Their family says they will petition the Supreme Court against the verdict, challenging both the conviction and the sentence.

Sources

  • Reuters — "Pakistan court jails prominent rights couple for 10 years, family says"
  • Dawn — "ATC sentences Imaan, Hadi to 10 years in security breach case"
  • Arab News — "Pakistani human rights lawyer couple jailed for 10 years each in security-barrier case"

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