Amnesty condemns convictions of Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chattha

Amnesty International’s South Asia chapter has condemned the convictions of human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, calling them part of a “systematic campaign of harassment” against rights defenders in Pakistan.

In an urgent action letter dated February 2, Amnesty had earlier urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to immediately and unconditionally release the two lawyers and quash their convictions.

Mazari, 32, and Chattha, 33, were sentenced on January 24 by an Islamabad district and sessions court to 10 years each in prison under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). They were convicted under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism), and 26-A (false or fake information) over posts on X expressing solidarity with Baloch and Pashtun activists and criticising the Pakistan military’s policies.

They were arrested on January 23 while travelling to court despite having secured pre-arrest bail on January 21. Amnesty said eyewitnesses reported the use of unnecessary force during their arrest. The lawyers remain imprisoned in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi.

Amnesty raised concerns over what it described as a “hasty trial”, saying the two were denied the right to cross-examine witnesses and present evidence in their defence. It also noted that the conviction was announced while a transfer application against the presiding judge, whom the lawyers had accused of bias, was still pending.

“Iman Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha are being targeted solely for their advocacy and work defending human rights in the country,” Amnesty said.

According to the rights group, the two lawyers have faced repeated arrests in recent years. Mazari was arrested in August 2023 on terrorism charges after a speech at a rally and was released on bail a week later. In October 2024, both were detained under terrorism charges related to removing police barricades during an international cricket team’s visit to Islamabad.

A case was filed against them in August 2025 under PECA over alleged “anti-state” posts, leading to arrest warrants. Although they were granted pre-arrest bail, it was later cancelled. Additional charges were brought through a previously unknown FIR related to a protest in Islamabad.

Amnesty said that immediately before sentencing, Mazari informed the court via video link that she was being denied food and water in jail and boycotted the proceedings over alleged mistreatment in detention.

Read: Imaan Mazari, Hadi Ali Chattha granted bail by ATC in police scuffle case

The organisation warned that their imprisonment affects journalists, activists and victims of enforced disappearances and blasphemy allegations whom they represent. “The use of laws such as PECA to silence and criminalise peaceful dissent is a matter of grave concern and a clear violation of Pakistan’s obligations under international human rights law,” it said.

Amnesty also linked the case to what it described as a wider crackdown on freedom of expression in Pakistan. Since PECA was enacted in 2016, it said, journalists, human rights defenders and opposition supporters have been detained and harassed under the law. Amendments in January 2025 further restricted online speech by adding Section 26-A, which allows up to three years’ imprisonment for “fake or false information”.

The rights body urged the government to end the misuse of cybercrime and other criminal laws against human rights defenders and to ensure fair trial guarantees in line with international standards.