Islamabad ATC tells authorities to allow Imaan, Hadi to meet their legal team in jail
ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday directed jail authorities to allow lawyers representing human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to meet them in prison as the couple raised concerns over their access to their legal counsel and the fairness of proceedings in a case related to the removal of security barriers . The couple was indicted in the case on Oct…
An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad ruled on Monday that jail authorities must permit lawyers for human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to meet with them in prison. The couple, charged with disrupting the security route of an international cricket team and inciting public unrest, raised concerns over their access to legal counsel and the fairness of their proceedings. The case against the couple was filed on October 7.
On October 10, the ATC dismissed the couple's plea to have the terrorism charges dropped. The court's presiding judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, ordered Advocates Riasat Ali Azad, Zainab Janjua, and Aimal Khan to meet the accused in jail. Imaan's mother, former human rights minister Dr Shireen Mazari, was present in court along with the lawyers, while the couple appeared via video link.
The defense requested an adjournment, citing the ongoing challenge of the October 10 order before the Islamabad High Court. They expressed uncertainty regarding the incident's circumstances and the alleged location. Judge Sipra questioned the defense on the validity of video-link proceedings, to which Azad responded affirmatively.
During the hearing, the couple complained about communication difficulties via the video link, stating that their voices were breaking up. Azad questioned the proceedings, noting that Imaan and Hadi had not been present for the video link. The judge reminded the court that the anti-terrorism law requires daily trials and asked the prosecution about the remaining witnesses. The prosecutor informed the court that nine witnesses remained to be presented.
Hadi objected to the trial's conduct, questioning why he and Imaan were not present in person. He raised concerns over privacy during consultations with their lawyers, stating that cameras had been installed in the designated meeting area at the jail, making confidential discussions challenging. Hadi emphasized that they had been in jail for eight months and were struggling to pursue their case.
He also questioned the privacy of the trial, asking the court to summon him and Imaan to court and determine whether they were terrorists.
The court adjourned further proceedings until October 14. In a related issue, the court expressed dissatisfaction with discrepancies in reports submitted by Adiala jail authorities concerning Imaan's video-link production in separate cases. On October 10, Imaan appeared through a video link in the case related to the removal of security barriers, but the jail authorities claimed that she could not be produced through a video link on the same day due to internet connectivity problems.
The judge criticized the jail authorities for their lack of attention to detail in their reports and issued a fresh show-cause notice to compel them to produce Imaan through a video link on October 19.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
