A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in a case linked to allegations of disrupting security arrangements.

The verdict was delivered on Thursday at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the couple have been detained since earlier this year.

The court also imposed additional sentences of one and two years on separate charges of obstructing and assaulting government officials.

The sentences will run concurrently, leaving the couple facing a total prison term of 10 years, according to the court’s ruling.

The prosecution stems from an incident in Islamabad on October 25, 2024, when the couple allegedly removed traffic barriers and disrupted a security route designated for England’s visiting cricket team.

Prosecutors argued that the couple endangered security arrangements for England’s cricket team, while the lawyers denied the charges and described themselves as “prisoners of conscience” targeted for their human rights work.

Mazari is a prominent human rights lawyer known for speaking out against enforced disappearances and representing journalists, minorities and political activists.

Her husband, Chattha, has also represented numerous clients in cases involving alleged abuses by state authorities.

Mazari’s mother, Shireen Mazari, a former human rights minister under jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, said the couple had been denied access to their own lawyer and key legal documents. The family said it would challenge the verdict before Pakistan’s Supreme Court.

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The latest sentence follows a separate case over social media posts that prosecutors described as anti-state, in which the couple received 17-year prison sentences each in January under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court suspended the sentences on September 17, but police rearrested the couple the same day in connection with the security breach case, preventing their release.

Rights organizations have condemned the proceedings, raising concerns about anti-terrorism laws being used against lawyers who represent people alleging abuses by Pakistan’s security agencies.

Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has maintained that the country’s judiciary is independent, while the couple’s supporters say the cases are part of a wider effort to silence their human rights work.