SC suspends Imaan Mazari, Hadi’s sentences

The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the prison sentences of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case involving controversial social media posts and ordered their release on bail.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim heard the couple’s appeals against the Islamabad High Court’s decision not to suspend their sentences.

The Supreme Court granted both appellants bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000 each. Their release will remain subject to the final decision of the Islamabad High Court on their petitions seeking suspension of their sentences.

An 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 (Peca). Their convictions followed allegations related to social media posts concerning security forces and banned organisations.

During Thursday’s proceedings, the couple’s counsel, senior lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, argued that the Supreme Court had previously directed the Islamabad High Court to decide the suspension-of-sentence matter as soon as possible, preferably within two weeks.

The lawyer told the court that the matter had been repeatedly adjourned by the high court and that an application seeking an early hearing had also been rejected by its registrar’s office.

The government’s representative, Additional Attorney General Rana Asadullah Khan, argued that the Islamabad High Court had not yet issued any adverse decision in the matter. He also maintained that the high court was the appropriate forum for considering an application seeking suspension of a sentence under the relevant legal provision.

The Supreme Court, however, subsequently suspended the sentences and ordered the release of Imaan and Hadi on bail pending the high court’s final decision.

The couple had been sentenced on January 24 after being convicted on several charges under Peca. The sessions court awarded 10 years for cyber terrorism, five years for glorification of an offence and two years for allegedly spreading false or fake information.

The case originated from a complaint filed in August 2025 by an investigating officer of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency. The allegations centred on social media content attributed to Imaan, while Hadi was accused of reposting some of her posts.

According to the prosecution’s case, the posts allegedly linked security forces to missing-person cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and criticised their ability to counter proscribed organisations.

Imaan and Hadi were also arrested in January in a separate case related to a protest outside the Islamabad High Court. Their arrests and subsequent convictions in the social media case drew criticism from lawyers and rights groups, who raised concerns about due process and their right to a fair trial.