Pakistan rights activist Imaan Mazari and husband jailed for 10 years
News Source
•Thu, 29 Oct 2026 17:28:18 +0000
📰 What Happened
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison on Thursday. The trial was held inside Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra said the couple put the England cricket team's security at risk. He wrote that this showed an intent to create terror. The same ruling called the security breach “a very common nature ordinary type of incident”.
The case dates to October 2024, when the couple removed road barriers in Islamabad on a route used by the touring England team. They pleaded not guilty.
🔍 The Backstory
The couple have been held since 23 January in a separate case over their social media posts. A lower court gave them 17 years each under a cyber crime law. The Supreme Court suspended those sentences, and police re-arrested them the same day.
Mazari's mother, Shireen Mazari, was Pakistan's human rights minister under Imran Khan. She called it a “sham trial without any due process”. Amnesty International said the anti-terror charges were being used to punish their rights work.
🎯 Why It Matters
This case shows how terror laws can be used against people who criticise a government. It matters to anyone who values free speech and fair trials.
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison on Thursday. The trial was held inside Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra said the couple put the England cricket team's security at risk. He wrote that this showed an intent to create terror. The same ruling called the security breach “a very common nature ordinary type of incident”.
The case dates to October 2024, when the couple removed road barriers in Islamabad on a route used by the touring England team. They pleaded not guilty.
The couple have been held since 23 January in a separate case over their social media posts. A lower court gave them 17 years each under a cyber crime law. The Supreme Court suspended those sentences, and police re-arrested them the same day.
Mazari's mother, Shireen Mazari, was Pakistan's human rights minister under Imran Khan. She called it a “sham trial without any due process”. Amnesty International said the anti-terror charges were being used to punish their rights work.
This case shows how terror laws can be used against people who criticise a government. It matters to anyone who values free speech and fair trials.