Amnesty International on Wednesday said the recent “arrest and continued detention” of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali in a terrorism case was a “violation of their rights to due process”.

The couple was arrested on Monday by the Islamabad police for allegedly “creating a security risk” during the England cricket team’s visit by removing road barriers.

A video, shared on social media on October 25, purportedly showed Imaan and Ali moving road barriers to clear the path for traffic.

A day ago, it emerged that a case under terrorism charges had been filed against them. Subsequently, they were sent on a three-day physical remand.

In a statement posted on the X account of its South Asia regional office, Amnesty said: “The arrest and continued detention of human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali under anti-terrorism laws is a violation of their rights to due process and yet another example of the abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act.”

It highlighted that the charges of terrorism were “not commensurate with any offences the lawyers are alleged to have committed”.

While the police statement had mentioned “interference in state duties” — an offence charged under Section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code — the first information report (FIR) against the couple also invoked Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the ATA.

“Such action by the authorities is excessive, disproportionate and in violation of Pakistan’s obligations under international law,” Amnesty said.

It went on to claim that Imaan and Ali were detained on October 28 but informed of the charges 24 hours after their arrest.

Imaan was also “previously arrested and charged for her participation and speech” at a rally by the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement in August 2023, the statement noted.

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The organisation called for the “disproportionate charges, particularly related to terrorism”, to be dropped immediately. It further asserted that the “authorities must ensure their right to a fair trial under international human rights law, including unrestricted access to legal counsel”.

Previously, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had condemned the couple’s arrest, saying it was made on “vague charges”.

“Both are committed, well-respected human rights defenders, whose arbitrary arrest is symptomatic of the rapidly shrinking space for activists in Pakistan,” it had said.

Case and previous arrests

The FIR against the couple, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered at Islamabad’s Aabpara police station on the morning of October 25, almost an hour after the reported time of the incident.

The case was filed on the complaint of sub-inspector Tanveer Athar and besides the terrorism charge, also invoked sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the PPC.

Other PPC sections were 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and 506(ii) (criminal intimidation if threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc).

According to the FIR, the lawyer couple, dressed in their professional attire, was accompanied by “two to three unidentified persons” when it reached Faisal Avenue.

The couple was told that barriers had been placed to temporarily halt traffic to clear the route for an international cricket team, but the lawyers started removing them while “shouting” at the traffic police, the complaint added.

It alleged that when driver constable Ibrahim Khan attempted to restore the barriers to their original positions, Ali “slapped, punched and pushed” him. It quoted Ali as saying, “I am Advocate Imaan Mazari’s husband. If you raise a hand at me, I will break your hands.”

In August last year, Imaan was arrested by the Islamabad police along with former lawmaker Ali Wazir in a sedition case over a speech made at a rally.

Following her bail in that case after over a week, she was re-arrested outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi in a terrorism case the same day.

She was released from jail on Sept 2, 2023 after an Islamabad anti-terrorism court granted her post-arrest bail.