Pakistan human rights lawyer and husband get 17-year jail term over posts
Pakistan’s eminent human rights lawyer Imran Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, were on Saturday sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison each in a case about social media posts. The case was based on a complaint filed on August 12, 2025, at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Islamabad, accusing the two of controversial social media posts.
The NCCIA complaint accused Mazari-Hazir of “propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”, while her husband was implicated for reposting some of her posts. They were indicted in the case on October 30 last year and arrested on Friday in the capital, Islamabad, while en route to court and later sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
Additional District and Sessions Court presided by Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka announced the sentence after the two accused boycotted the proceedings after briefly appearing through a video-link from the Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi. A court order written by Judge Majoka said that the “prosecution has been able to prove its case against both the accused” under various sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
Geo News reported that the two were each sentenced to five years imprisonment under Section 9, ten years under Section 10 and two years under Section 26-A. The sentence was announced after Mazari-Hazir refused to attend the proceedings upon learning that the media had been barred from the courtroom.“Is the media present in court?” she asked during the hearing before alleging, “We are being subjected to torture.
We are not being given food or water.” Mazari then announced, “We are boycotting the court proceedings.” The judge responded by asking, “You mean you do not want to be part of the proceedings?” and told them to “wait for the decision.”
