Islamabad, Nov 6 (PTI) A prominent Pakistani human rights lawyer couple on Friday filed appeals in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against an anti-terrorism court's verdict sentencing them to 10 years in prison each in a security breach case.
Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail each on October 29 by Anti-Terrorism Court judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, who announced the verdict at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, where the trial was conducted.
The couple was accused of obstructing official duties and assaulting police personnel by removing barriers placed at Islamabad’s Zero Point during the Rawalpindi Test match between England and Pakistan cricket team on October 25, 2024.
On Friday, advocates Faisal Siddiqui, Riasat Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua filed the appeals on behalf of Mazari and Chattha, arguing that the trial court failed to fulfil the requirements of a fair trial, Geo News reported.
The appeals have cited various judicial precedents concerning the lack of a fair trial. They further argued that the jail trial, conducted in violation of Article 10, was carried out like a secret trial, the channel said.
The appeals have pleaded with the IHC to set aside the anti-terrorism court's verdict, which sentenced both Mazari and Chattha to 10 years in prison and imposed fines.
The couple has also requested the court to suspend their sentences and release them on bail pending a decision on their appeals.
The couple filed separate applications seeking the suspension of their sentences awarded by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi.
On Tuesday, an anti-terrorism court judge granted bail to both against surety bonds of PKR 5,000 each.
The couple has been in jail since their arrest on January 23 in a case registered against them for protesting outside the Islamabad High Court.
They were sentenced to 17 years in jail, but the Supreme Court in September suspended their sentences. However, they were arrested again in connection with the security breach case.
The security breach case was registered at Islamabad’s Kohsar police station on March 22 last year on the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.
The two were indicted on October 7, when a formal trial commenced. Both pleaded not guilty and, in their statements, denied the charges and alleged that they were being targeted for their human rights work.
Mazari is the daughter of former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, who served in the government of former prime minister Imran Khan.
