Lawyers Imaan Mazari and husband Hadi Ali Chattha convicted under controversial cyber crime laws as judiciary faces accusations of military influence
ISLAMABAD – In a verdict that has sent shockwaves through Pakistan’s legal community, human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, were sentenced to seventeen years in prison by an Islamabad court on Saturday for controversial posts on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, according to The Express Tribune.
The couple’s conviction under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) represents the latest chapter in what critics describe as a systematic crackdown on dissent orchestrated by the country’s powerful military establishment through a compliant judiciary. Their crime? Tweets and retweets that authorities deemed “anti state”, a classification that has become an increasingly common weapon against those who dare challenge Pakistan’s shadowy power structures.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka handed down the harsh sentence despite the couple boycotting the proceedings after Mazari, appearing via video link, alleged torture and deprivation of food and water whilst in custody. Neither of their lawyers were present in court when the verdict was announced, a detail that speaks volumes about the procedural irregularities that have plagued this case from the beginning.
The written judgment offers a window into how Pakistan’s judiciary, widely perceived as operating under military tutelage, criminalises legitimate criticism. Judge Majoka’s order claimed the couple had labelled Pakistan a “terrorist state,” praised proscribed organisations, and portrayed the judiciary as biased. Ironically, the conviction itself may prove the very bias they allegedly highlighted.
The sentences are staggering in their severity: five years rigorous imprisonment and a five million rupee fine under Section 9; ten years and thirty million rupees under Section 10; and another five years with a one million rupee fine under Section 26A. The cumulative effect; seventeen years behind bars for social media posts, reveals the Pakistani state’s determination to silence human rights defenders.
This is not merely about two lawyers. It represents a pattern. Pakistan’s military establishment has long wielded influence over the country’s judiciary, using courts as instruments to neutralise critics, activists, and anyone who questions the army’s outsized role in national affairs. The rushed proceedings, the allegations of torture, the absence of legal representation, and the draconian sentence all point to a justice system that has abandoned impartiality in favour of serving powerful interests.
Imaan Mazari is the daughter of Shireen Mazari, a former human rights minister who has herself faced harassment. The younger Mazari has built her reputation defending marginalised communities and challenging state overreach. Her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, has similarly stood on the front lines of civil liberties battles. Their prosecution sends an unmistakable message to Pakistan’s human rights community: dissent will be crushed.
The couple’s arrest on Friday outside Serena Hotel whilst heading to court, no less was itself dramatic. Journalists reported police violently seizing mobile phones to prevent documentation of the arrest. Eyewitnesses described officers manhandling Mazari and severely beating Chattha. The Islamabad High Court Bar Association condemned the actions, with legal bodies arguing the defendants’ right to fair defence has been systematically undermined.
As Pakistan’s judiciary continues to function as an extension of military will rather than an independent pillar of democracy, cases like this expose the fiction of rule of law in the country. When tweets warrant seventeen-year prison sentences whilst genuine crimes go unpunished, justice has not merely been delayed, it has been denied entirely.
