Pakistan sentences human rights lawyers to 10 years on terrorism-related charges

Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict on Thursday following the trial inside Adiala prison in Rawalpindi. The couple were found guilty of putting "the security of [the England and Wales Cricket] team at risk", the judge wrote, adding that it "clearly shows the intentions and objective of the accused to create a sense of terror", according to a copy of the judgement obtained by AFP.

At the same time, the ruling conceded the security breach was "a very common nature ordinary type of incident apparently of removal of a barrier".

The couple were indicted on October 7, accused of obstructing police and inciting public interest, and pleaded not guilty. In statements seen by Reuters, they called themselves "prisoners of conscience", adding they were being targeted for their human rights work. In their defence document, they said they were "being made an example to further cement the chilling effect against those who stand (or want to stand) against tyranny, oppression and injustice".

Mazari and Chattha have been in custody since January 23 in a separate case over their social media posts. A lower court sentenced them each to 17 years the next day under Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, which critics have said is designed to quash antigovernment dissent online. Although the Supreme Court later suspended those sentences, police re-arrested the couple the same day in the security breach case.

Shireen Mazari, Imaan Mazari's mother and a former human rights minister under incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan, called it a "sham trial without any due process". She told Reuters the couple "were not permitted to defend themselves through their own lawyer, and were not provided with key legal documents", adding that the defence would file a petition against the verdict in the Supreme Court.

Amnesty International called the convictions "an indictment of Pakistan's justice system". "It was a test of the judiciary's ability to uphold the principles of justice and the right to fair trial. It has failed that test miserably," said Amnesty's Yasmine Ahmend. "It is clear that these 'anti-terrorism' charges are being used to punish Imaan and Hadi for their human rights advocacy."

Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, said the couple's re-arrest "dispels any pretence that the charges against them are anything other than a politically motivated attempt to punish them for their human rights work", adding the case demonstrates the authorities' willingness to weaponise the legal system against critical voices.

Pakistan's law minister, Azam Nazeer Tarar, has repeatedly said the country's judiciary is independent.