Pakistan court sentences human rights lawyers to 10 years in security case

An anti-terrorism court sentenced Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison each over a case involving barriers on a route designated for an international cricket team. The couple denied the charges; relatives and rights groups questioned the fairness of the proceedings, while the court said their actions put security arrangements at risk.

• The court sentenced Mazari and Chattha to 10 years each in the case concerning barriers on a route used for an international cricket team’s security arrangements.· 3 sources
• The judgment also imposed one-year terms for obstructing public servants and two-year terms for assault or use of force against them; Dawn reported that the sentences would run concurrently.· 2 sources
• The couple denied the charges and said they were being targeted for their human rights work. The court said their actions put security arrangements at risk; its judgment also described the incident as removal of a barrier.· 2 sources
• The couple had also received 17-year sentences in a separate social-media-posts case; the Supreme Court suspended those sentences, and police arrested them again in the security case.· 2 sources
• Mazari’s mother said the couple would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.· 2 sources