Islamabad anti-terrorism court postpones verdict in Mazari, Chattha barrier case

An Islamabad anti-terrorism court has postponed its verdict in the case against human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha over the alleged removal of security barriers and disruption of a designated route during the visit of an international cricket team.

Proceedings were held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Thursday before Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra. The Express Tribune reported that the court adjourned until 1pm with a verdict due at that hour, while Dawn reported that the verdict had been postponed.

At the hearing the prosecution and the defence completed their closing submissions, with prosecutor Raja Naveed Hussain Kayani finishing the state's arguments. Defence counsel Aimal Khan Mandokhail filed a written application asking the court to hold back its ruling until petitions pending before the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court are decided. "Until our petitions are heard, the court cannot legally announce its verdict," Mandokhail told the court, according to the Express Tribune. He said a request to transfer the case was also awaiting a decision by the high court.

The trial concluded at Adiala on October 27, when both accused recorded their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the state counsel completed final arguments. Charges were framed on October 7 and statements from all seven prosecution witnesses were recorded. The trial was moved to the jail amid disputes over the production of the accused and access for defence lawyers.

Earlier this week the two approached the Supreme Court against a decision of the Islamabad High Court on their request to halt the trial. They argued that without an immediate stay their high court application would be rendered meaningless, that the trial court moved with haste and gave them inadequate time, and that the witnesses were recorded in a single day. Removing security barriers, they contended, does not amount to terrorism, and they described the proceedings as harassment and political victimisation aimed at keeping them in jail.

Earlier this month they asked the high court to suspend the trial, alleging procedural violations at the time of indictment, including that they were not physically present and had not received copies of relevant documents. The high court declined to pass an interim order on petitions seeking removal of the anti-terrorism provisions but issued notices on the separate plea to suspend the trial.

In January the couple received a combined 17-year sentence on charges tied to social media posts that prosecutors said amounted to an anti-state narrative under cybercrime law. They were rearrested on September 17 after the Supreme Court granted bail and suspended those sentences, and were produced before an Islamabad anti-terrorism court in a case registered at Kohsar Police Station. Police sought 30 days' physical remand; Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain refused and sent them on judicial remand, noting that no weapon had been attributed to either accused in the FIR.