A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced two human rights lawyers to 17 years in prison each over allegedly ‘hostile’ social media posts that targeted the state and its security institutions.
The verdict was announced by Judge Afzal Majoka a day after Zainab Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha were arrested in Islamabad, according to court documents.
The court accused Mazari of posting multiple tweets in recent years that “portrayed the agenda” of the outlawed Baloch separatist group and Pakistani Taliban, referring to a complaint that alleged that Mazari “consistently disseminated highly offensive, misleading and anti-state contents on social media,” with the “active connivance” of her husband.
Tweeting “false and misleading narratives against state institutions” constitutes offences under the PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) said the court. The Act was passed by parliament last year to “stop the spread of disinformation and hate speech”.
“The overall conduct of both accused unmistakably reflects a deliberate, willful and persistent strategy aimed at derailing, delaying and obstructing the trial process. In short, the accused have undermined the dignity of the court, willfully obstructed due process, and systematically sabotaged the administration of justice,” the judge said in the verdict.
The couple, who has denied all charges, appeared briefly via video link but boycotted the hearing, prompting the court to conclude the trial and deliver the verdict.
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In the case stemming from a complaint filed in August 2025 with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, the prosecution accused Mazari of propagating a “narrative that aligned with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations and individuals.” They were formally indicted last October and had repeatedly refused to appear in court.
All proceedings and the latest verdict against Mazari and her husband have been slammed by human rights watch groups, family and friends of the couple, and independent voices in the country and abroad, including Amnesty International, which said in a statement on Friday that the couple’s detention marked “the latest escalation in a sustained campaign of judicial harassment and intimidation by the Pakistani authorities.”
It said Mazari and Chattha were arrested while on their way to a court hearing, with eyewitnesses reporting that law enforcement officials used excessive force. No reasons were given for the arrests at the time, raising serious concerns about the couple’s safety.
Human rights activists in Pakistan have increasingly come under pressure from the government, which has been cracking down on criticism and dissent, violently targeting those supporting former Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan, incarcerated since May, 2023. Mazari is the daughter of Shireen Mazari, Pakistan’s former human rights minister who served under Khan.
Mazari and Chattha often represented journalists, political figures and human rights activists who had been detained by the security forces without formal charges or court appearances.
Shireen Mazari denounced the verdict on X as “totally illegal”, while Pakistan’s current Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, praised the verdict, saying, “As you sow, so shall you reap!”
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