ISLAMABAD: A sessions court on Saturday sentenced lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse Hadi Ali Chattha to a total of 17 years in prison on multiple charges in a case pertaining to social media posts.
The lawyer couple were already on judicial remand at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail after their arrest in a separate case on Friday.
A court order written by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka declared that the “prosecution has been able to prove its case against both the accused” under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism), 26-A (false and fake information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).
Hence, under Peca’s Section 9, Imaan and Hadi were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for five years each with a fine of Rs5 million each, in default of which each will undergo one more year of jail.
Under Section 10 of Peca, they were each handed 10 years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs30m each, with an additional two years for each in case of default.
Lastly, the couple were sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment each under Section 26-A of Peca with a fine of Rs1m each, in default of which they will remain behind bars for six months each.
The order noted that the convicts were “present in custody in some other case on video link”, adding that they be kept in jail to undergo their sentences.
The court gave both the benefit of Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which allows the period of detention to be considered as part of the sentence.
In his judgement, Judge Majoka recalled Sub-inspector Sharooz Riaz’s August 2025 complaint that Imaan “consistently disseminated highly offensive, misleading and anti-state contents on social media”, with the “active connivance” of Hadi.
“She propagated a narrative that aligned with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations and individuals. Her contents incited ethnic hatred, undermined public trust on state organisations and portrayed the armed forces are behind terrorism and forced disappearances.”
The order observed that Imaan’s tweets made between 2021 and 2025 from “portrayed the agenda” of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Judge Majoka stated: “Both the accused persons are advocates by profession and they have fully knowledge that the [sic] Pakistan is not included in the list of terrorist states but they have intentionally in their tweets mentioned the [sic] Pakistan as a terrorist state which in fact is the agenda of BLA, TTP.”
Earlier on Saturday, the couple briefly appeared via video link before Majoka’s court in Islamabad. However, court proceedings were disrupted when the couple boycotted the hearing, following which the court reserved its order.
Imaan and Hadi’s arrest on Friday prompted criticism by rights bodies, politicians, and journalists, who stressed the couple’s right to a fair trial.
Amnesty International noted the “lack of adherence to due process” and said these were “retaliatory cases aimed solely at silencing Imaan and Hadi for their human rights work and dissent”.
