Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha appeal 10-year sentences in Islamabad High Court
Appeals by advocates Faisal Siddiqui, Riasat Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua ask the high court to suspend the Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court's October 29 verdict and release the couple on bail.
Human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, filed appeals in the Islamabad High Court on Friday against the 10-year prison sentences an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi handed them on October 29, and asked the high court to suspend the sentences and release them on bail until the appeals are decided.
Advocates Faisal Siddiqui, Riasat Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua filed the appeals and the separate suspension applications, according to Geo News and Daily Times. The IHC registrar's office has given the appeals case numbers and they will go before a bench for preliminary review. Neither report named a bench or a hearing date.
The anti-terrorism court convicted the couple under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and imposed a fine of Rs100,000 each, Geo News reported. Under Section 353 the court added two years' imprisonment and a Rs50,000 fine, and under Section 186 it added one year and a further Rs50,000 fine. All the terms run concurrently, leaving a total of 10 years, and the court gave the couple the benefit of Section 382.
The appeals argue that the trial court did not meet the constitutional requirements of a fair trial. Holding the proceedings inside a prison, the petitions say, violated Article 10 of the Constitution and amounted to a secret trial. The lawyers cite Supreme Court precedents on due process and on access to counsel, and ask the IHC to set aside the anti-terrorism court's verdict and declare the proceedings void.
The case was registered at Aabpara Police Station in Islamabad on October 25, 2024. Prosecutors alleged the couple interfered in state affairs and created a security risk during the visit of an international cricket team that month. The court indicted them on October 7 and completed the trial inside the garrison town's prison.
Daily Times reported that the prosecution maintains law enforcement followed standard legal procedure and intends to defend the anti-terrorism court judgment at the IHC hearings. The same outlet reported that the couple have called the case harassment over their human rights work.
Both accused remain in custody pending the high court's decision on the suspension applications.
How the reports differ
Geo News reported the fine amounts in full: Rs100,000 each under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Rs50,000 under Section 353, Rs50,000 under Section 186, plus the benefit of Section 382 and the exact date the case was registered, October 25, 2024. Daily Times gave no fine figures and dated the case only to October 2024, but it alone described the prosecution's position that standard legal procedure was followed and that it will defend the judgment. Two further links circulated with this item, from Pakistan Today and UrduPoint, carried a separate story about a petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan's schedule for Islamabad local government polls.
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