World · South & Central Asia · 3 hrs ago
Pakistan court sentences rights lawyers to 10 years in cricket security case
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison each on Thursday.
The case concerns a roadblock in Islamabad during England’s cricket team visit in 2024.
Prosecutors said the couple removed barriers on the team’s planned route, obstructed police and stirred public unrest.
Mazari said they were trying to reach court so she could represent a client when police stopped them.
The couple are known for representing journalists and activists, including families seeking information about alleged detentions by security agencies.
Their family said they were not allowed to defend themselves through their own lawyer or given key legal documents.
Mazari’s mother said the family will challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison each.
The case concerned accusations that they obstructed security arrangements for England’s cricket team during its 2024 visit.
The court also imposed additional one-year and two-year sentences on separate charges, to run concurrently.
The couple denied the charges, and Mazari’s mother said they were not allowed to defend themselves through their own lawyer or given key legal documents.
The couple have been in custody since their arrest in a separate case over social media posts.
- Who
- Human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha.
- What
- A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced them to 10 years in prison each in a security breach case.
- When
- Thursday, October 29, 2026.
- Where
- The verdict was announced at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
- Why
- Prosecutors accused them of obstructing police and endangering security arrangements for England’s cricket team during its 2024 visit.
Pakistani authorities
Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha
Security breach case
Pakistani authorities
Prosecutors accused the couple of obstructing police and endangering an international cricket team’s security plans.
Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha
The couple denied the charges; Mazari said she was trying to reach court to represent a client when police stopped them.
Fairness of proceedings
Pakistani authorities
Pakistan’s law minister has said the judiciary is independent.
Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha
Mazari’s mother said the couple were not permitted to defend themselves through their own lawyer and were not provided with key legal documents.
The couple were accused of removing road barriers and blocking a route designated for England’s visiting cricket team.
Mazari and Chattha were arrested in a separate case over social media posts.
A sessions court sentenced them each to 17 years under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
The Supreme Court suspended those sentences, and police re-arrested the couple in the security breach case.
An anti-terrorism court sentenced the couple to 10 years in prison each.
- Sentences
- 10 years in prison each
- Defendants
- Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha
- Court
- Anti-terrorism court
- Verdict location
- Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi
- Additional sentences
- One year and two years on separate charges; to run concurrently
3 sources
What people are saying
We are prisoners of conscience
were not permitted to defend themselves through their own lawyer, and were not provided with key legal documents.
We will file a petition against the verdict in the Supreme Court