Key facts
- Human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
- The sentences were handed down by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Thursday.
- The charges relate to endangering an international cricket team's security plans in 2024.
- The couple also received concurrent sentences for obstructing and assaulting government servants.
- Mazari's mother claimed they were denied proper legal defense and documents.
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison on Thursday in a security breach case, according to Mazari's family. The judge announced the verdict at Adiala Jail, where the couple have been held since earlier this year. They received concurrent additional sentences of one and two years for obstructing and assaulting government servants. The couple were accused of endangering an international cricket team's security plans by staging a protest and blocking a road in 2024. They denied the charges, calling themselves "prisoners of conscience" and claiming they were targeted for their human rights work. Mazari's mother, Shireen Mazari, a former human rights minister, told Reuters that the couple were not allowed to defend themselves properly and were not given key legal documents. The couple were previously arrested on January 23 for alleged anti-state social media posts and sentenced to 17 years, but the Supreme Court suspended those sentences on September 17, leading to their re-arrest in the current case.