ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court on Thursday sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in the security breach case.
Imaan and Hadi were being tried in jail in the 2024 case pertaining to the alleged disruption of an international cricket team’s security route and incitement to public unrest. The couple, accused of removing barriers from the route, was indicted on Oct 7. A formal trial commenced after both lawyers pleaded not guilty. Both were on bail in this case prior to the verdict.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict in the case at Adiala jail on Thursday, where the trial was conducted.
The sentence was handed down under three separate legal provisions. According to the judgment, a copy of which is available with Dawn, the two were sentenced to ten years along with a fine of Rs100,000 each under Section 7 (h) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, as defined under Section 6 (2) (m) — serious coercion or intimidation of a public servant in order to force him to discharge or to refrain from discharging his lawful duties.
The court further handed down a one-year sentence and fined Rs50,000 each under Section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Imaan and Hadi were also sentenced to two years each under Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the PPC.
All the sentences will run concurrently, the judgment stated.
Judge Sipra held that the two were “jointly responsible for the offence committed under joint object and common intention”. He stated that the objective of the accused was to “compromise the security arrangements through pressuring security officials”.
While the court acknowledged that the right of movement was a constitutional right, it held that the “same right is subject to observance of the law of the land, and nobody is allowed to attack/assault” law enforcement agencies.
The judgment, citing the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009, stated that the assault on police personnel and the attempt to “put the security of an international team visiting Pakistan at risk clearly shows the intentions and objective of the accused to create sense of terror”.
The court maintained that the two were well-educated persons “having the full knowledge of delicacy of the matter, but they assaulted upon the police officials deputed [there] for ensuring [..] security”.
Meanwhile, on charges under Section 506 ii (punishment for criminal intimidation), 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the PPC, both Imaan and Hadi were acquitted.
The court had appointed a state counsel for the defence in the case. State counsel Atif Mehmood conducted the cross-examination of the witnesses during the trial, while the prosecution presented a total of seven witnesses.
On Oct 27, both accused recorded their statements under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), while final arguments by the state counsel also concluded during the proceedings.
On Monday, the couple approached the SC to challenge the IHC’s Oct 19 order refusing to stay the trial in the case.
The IHC had heard their appeals last week against an Oct 10 ATC order dismissing petitions challenging the framing of charges and the inclusion of terrorism-related provisions. The high court issued notices and said it would decide how to proceed after receiving responses from the parties.
‘Prisoners of conscience’
In their statements recorded under Section 342 of the CrPC, Imaan and Hadi had denied the charges and alleged that they were being targeted for their human rights work and provision of pro bono legal assistance and services to the marginalised and oppressed communities.
“The evidence produced during this trial is not against us, but in fact a charge sheet against (prosecution witnesses)/police officials and the state,” Imaan and Hadi said in their separate similar recorded statements available with Dawn.
“I am a prisoner of conscience who has been at the receiving end of state persecution,” the statements read.
Imaan pointed out that the entire jail trial had been challenged by the couple in the IHC as well as the SC.
Further, the trial was conducted with Imaan and her husband being presented in a cage, preventing effective communication with their counsel or the court, she said.
“From day one, our constitutional rights to fair trial, due process and basic human dignity have been infringed,” she stated.
She also noted that the couple had been incarcerated for over nine months and handed 17-year sentences a day after their arrest on January 23.
“We are being made an example to further cement the chilling effect against those who stand (or want to stand) against tyranny, oppression and injustice,” Imaan stated.
The lawyer further highlighted that the two had spent the third year of their marriage in jail and thus “suffered painful separation from one another” very early on.
“We have not done so for any personal gain; in fact, we have endured only hardship for our work (and) activism,” she said. “But we surrender ourselves before the ultimate court where we all must return one day, where all will be held accountable for what they have done.”
Jailed, sentenced, re-arrested
The couple has been in jail since their arrest on Jan 23 in a case registered against them for protesting outside the IHC and allegedly manhandling the IHC Bar Association president. The arrest prompted criticism by rights bodies, politicians and journalists, who stressed the couple’s right to a fair trial.
Just a day later, a sessions court sentenced them to 17 years on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act in the controversial social media posts case. The convictions were widely condemned by lawyers and United Nations (UN) experts.
On September 17, following months of litigation before the courts, the SC suspended their sentences in the case. The SC ordered their release pending the IHC’s final verdict on their appeals against the trial court’s decision.
However, the reprieve was short-lived as hours later, Islamabad police arrested the couple again in connection with the security breach case. The case was registered at the federal capital’s Kohsar police station on March 22 last year on the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.
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