Imaan Mazari, husband re-arrested after SC bail

Human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were sent to judicial remand on Thursday in a separate case, hours after the Supreme Court suspended their sentences and ordered their release on bail.

An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad rejected police’s request for a 30-day physical remand of the couple and directed that they be sent to jail on judicial remand.

The couple was produced before ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain in connection with a case registered at Kohsar police station.

The development came shortly after the Supreme Court suspended the sentences handed to Imaan and Hadi in a separate case. Police officials, led by the SSP Operations, reached Adiala Jail after the Supreme Court order and arrested the couple again in connection with the Kohsar police case.

They were subsequently taken to Kohsar police station before being produced before the anti-terrorism court later in the night.

Former federal minister Shireen Mazari confirmed the re-arrest and said efforts were being made to keep the couple behind bars. Imaan’s lawyer, Riasat Ali Azad, also confirmed that a large contingent of Islamabad police had taken the couple into custody.

Earlier on Thursday, a two-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim suspended the couple’s sentences and granted them bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000 each.

The Supreme Court was hearing their appeals against the Islamabad High Court’s refusal to suspend the sentences imposed on them in January.

The Islamabad sessions court had sentenced Imaan and Hadi to a combined 17 years in prison on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. Their convictions had drawn criticism from lawyers and United Nations experts.

In its order, the Supreme Court converted the couple’s petitions into appeals and suspended the operation of their convictions. The court directed that both applicants, who are practising lawyers, be released on bail until the final decision on their appeals pending before the Islamabad High Court.

The release was made subject to personal surety bonds of Rs200,000 each to be submitted with the Supreme Court’s additional registrar (judicial). The apex court said a detailed order would be issued later.

During the hearing, the couple’s counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, told the court that the Supreme Court had previously directed the Islamabad High Court to decide their applications seeking suspension of sentence as quickly as possible.

He said the Supreme Court had issued directions on May 12 for the high court to decide the applications within two weeks, but the matter remained pending beyond the stipulated period.

Siddiqui also referred to several proceedings before the Islamabad High Court and argued that repeated adjournments had delayed the case. He said the couple’s request for an early hearing had also not been accepted by the high court registrar’s office.

The government’s lawyer maintained that the Islamabad High Court had not issued any adverse order against the applicants and argued that the high court was the appropriate forum for seeking suspension of a sentence under Section 426 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Justice Afghan questioned the repeated delays and observed that the high court had previously referred to Supreme Court directions for early disposal of the matter.

The Supreme Court ultimately suspended the couple’s sentences and ordered their release on bail pending the outcome of their appeals before the Islamabad High Court.