ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to a cumulative 17 years in prison over social media posts, ruling that their online activity crossed the lawful limits of dissent and amounted to an “anti-state narrative” under the country’s cybercrime law.
The ruling follows the couple’s arrest a day earlier while they were on their way to a court appearance, after which they were remanded to two weeks in judicial custody. Authorities had accused Mazari-Hazir and Chattha of violating the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over posts on X that they said incited ethnic divisions and portrayed the military as being involved in “terrorism,” allegations both have consistently denied.
In a written verdict, Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka said the prosecution had proved its case against both defendants under Sections 9, 10 and 26-A of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), while acquitting them of a separate hate-speech charge.
“The accused persons crossed the permissible boundaries under the law by their tweets, re-tweets and posts; thus, has committed the offense under section 9/10/26-A of PECA,” the court order said.
