The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the sentences of human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse Hadi Ali Chattha in a case pertaining to controversial social media posts, directing their release on bail pending a final decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
A two-judge bench, comprising Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim, issued the orders on the couple’s appeals against the IHC’s refusal in February to suspend the sentences.
An Islamabad Session Court in January sentenced the couple to 17 years’ imprisonment on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The convictions have drawn condemnations from rights groups, as well as lawyers’ bodies.
In its verdict, the Supreme Court order the couple’s release on bail against surety bonds of Rs. 200,000 each, adding the release would remain in place until the final verdict of the IHC. “Both are lawyers and we are keeping their honor,” remarked Justice Afghan, while directing senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui to tell the appellants to observe the court’s decorum.
“There is a difference between a lawyer and an ordinary person,” he observed.
During proceedings, Siddiqui argued that the Supreme Court had in May directed the IHC to decide on the appellants’ petition for suspension of sentence within two weeks. Despite the expiry of the deadline, he said, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency had challenged the SC order and sought its withdrawal.
Imaan and Hadi were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 10 (cyber terrorism), five years’ imprisonment under Section 9 (glorification of an offense) and two years’ imprisonment under Section 26-A (false and fake information) of PECA, with all sentences to run concurrently.
The case against them stems from a complaint filed on Aug. 12, 2025 by the NCCIA, alleging Imaan disseminated and propagated narratives aligning with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organizations, while her husband reposted some of her posts. It accused the couple of blaming security forces for cases of missing persons in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, adding they had sought to portray the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed groups.