A coalition of international civil society organisations, led by Amnesty International, has strongly criticised the sentencing of prominent Pakistani human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha, describing the convictions as part of a broader pattern of politically motivated persecution and the misuse of Pakistan’s criminal justice system.

The organisations condemned a verdict delivered by an Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court on 29 October, which sentenced both lawyers to 10 years’ imprisonment under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 and an additional three years under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). They were also ordered to pay combined fines of 2,00,000 Pakistani rupees, with the prison terms set to run concurrently.

The convictions relate to an incident in October 2024, when the lawyers were accused of removing security barriers from a road in Islamabad during the movement of the visiting England cricket team. The court convicted them under Section 7(h) of the ATA as well as Sections 186 and 353 of the PPC.

Human rights groups expressed grave concern over the conduct of the proceedings, arguing that the trial failed to meet internationally recognised fair trial standards. The case was heard inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala prison rather than in an open court setting.

According to reports cited by the organisations, the lawyers were held inside a cage-like enclosure during court hearings, severely limiting their ability to communicate with legal counsel. Their defence team also reportedly encountered obstacles in accessing the accused and effectively challenging prosecution evidence.

The joint statement further criticised the court for issuing its verdict despite a petition being filed before Pakistan’s Supreme Court on 26 October seeking both a stay of the proceedings and the transfer of the case to another venue.

Amnesty International and the other signatories argued that the latest convictions cannot be viewed in isolation. They said the case forms part of a wider series of legal actions brought against the two lawyers in recent years.

On 17 September 2026, Pakistan’s Supreme Court granted bail to Mazari-Hazir and Chattha and suspended their previously imposed 17-year sentences under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). Those convictions were linked to social media posts that criticised Pakistan’s military and expressed solidarity with Baloch and Pashtun activists.

However, despite securing relief from the Supreme Court in that matter, both lawyers were re-arrested on the same day under a separate case brought under anti-terrorism legislation.

The human rights organisations maintained that the repeated use of anti-terror laws and other criminal provisions against the two lawyers raises serious concerns about judicial fairness, freedom of expression and the treatment of human rights defenders in Pakistan.

They argued that the latest verdict reflects a continuing trend in which legislation designed to combat terrorism is allegedly being used against lawyers and activists engaged in peaceful advocacy and dissent.

ANI