ATC reserves verdict in security barrier case against Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chattha

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) reserved its verdict on Tuesday in the case against human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha. The case concerns the alleged removal of security barriers in Islamabad. The court will announce its decision on Thursday, October 29, at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, in the presence of the accused.

The trial was held at Adiala Jail. Both accused recorded their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the state counsel completed final arguments, after which the verdict was reserved.

According to the prosecution, the two removed barriers placed on the security route of an international cricket team in Islamabad and disrupted the performance of official duties. The prosecution also accused them of inciting the public to disorder.

The ATC framed charges against them on October 7. According to Daily Pakistan, they objected that they had not been given copies of the case record or allowed to meet their lawyers before the proceedings, but the court completed the framing of charges despite these objections. The Express Tribune said the defence also argued that legal requirements had not been met.

The court recorded statements from all seven prosecution witnesses. Daily Pakistan reported that the defence lawyers could not complete their cross-examination of the witnesses in the time allowed. The court then appointed a state counsel, and Atif Mahmood replaced Taimur Janjua after objections. The state counsel completed cross-examination of the witnesses on October 23. The trial was moved to Adiala Jail amid disputes over the accused being produced in court and their lawyers' access to them.

On Monday, the couple approached the Supreme Court against an Islamabad High Court decision on their request to halt the trial. They argued that removing security barriers is not terrorism, that the trial was begun in haste, and that it was meant to harass them. The Islamabad High Court had earlier, on October 19, refused an interim order on their petitions to remove anti-terrorism provisions from the case. It issued notices on their separate plea to suspend the trial.

In January, the couple received a combined 17-year sentence in a social media posts case under cybercrime laws. They were rearrested on September 17, shortly after the Supreme Court granted them bail and suspended those sentences. At that time, Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain rejected a police request for 30-day physical remand and sent them on judicial remand, noting that no weapon was attributed to either accused.