Pakistan rights activist Imaan Mazari and husband jailed for 10 years

Couple say they are ‘prisoners of conscience’ being made into an example by Pakistan’s military-backed authorities.Published On 29 Oct 202629 Oct 2026An antiterrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, ⁠⁠to 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges.Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict on Thursday, following their trial inside Adiala prison in the garrison city of 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 court judgement obtained by the AFP news agency.At the same time, the ruling conceded that the security breach was “a very common nature ordinary type of incident apparently of removal of a barrier”.The case relates to an October 2024 incident in which the couple removed road barriers in the capital, Islamabad, along a route designated for the touring England cricket team.The couple were indicted on October 7, accused of obstructing police and inciting public interest, and pl...