Islamabad, Oct 29 An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Thursday sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison each in a case of breaching security protocol for a visiting cricket team.
The two were convicted by Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, who announced the verdict at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the trial was held.
The couple was accused of obstructing official duties and assaulting police personnel by removing barriers placed at Islamabad’s Zero Point during the Rawalpindi Test match between England and Pakistan cricket teams on October 25, 2024.
The case was registered at Islamabad’s Kohsar police station on March 22 last year at the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.
The two were indicted on October 7 this year, when a formal trial commenced. Both pleaded not guilty and, in their statements, denied the charges and alleged they were being targeted for their human rights work.
However, the court rejected their defence and, in its final verdict, found them guilty and convicted them.
The couple has been in jail since their arrest on January 23 in a case registered against them for protesting outside the Islamabad High Court. They were sentenced to 17 years in jail, but the Supreme Court, on September 17, suspended their sentences in the case.
However, they were arrested again in connection with the security breach case.
(PTI News)
