Imaan Mazari, husband Hadi Ali indicted in controversial tweet case

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday indicted human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha in the “controversial tweet case”.

When Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka took up the case, both Mazari and Chattha pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Earlier, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha was arrested moments after the same court issued his arrest warrants in the case related to controversial tweets allegedly against state and national security institutions.

The court summoned all prosecution witnesses for the next hearing and directed Hadi Ali Chattha to submit fresh surety bonds.

In response, Chattha said, “I will not submit the bonds. If you want to keep me in jail for a year, go ahead. You acted unlawfully yesterday — you are not fit to be a judge.”

Imaan Mazari added, “You want to have us arrested; go ahead and cancel my bail as well.”

Judge Majoka remarked, “My principle is that if I show you respect, I expect the same in return.”

Defence lawyer Qaiser Imam told the court that his clients also had to appear in other cases, including at the high court and in Rawalpindi.

In reply, the judge noted that he had already postponed the hearing three times on their request.

The court adjourned further proceedings until November 5.

The case against Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha had been registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

The NCCIA had submitted a seven-page charge sheet against the accused, which also listed four prosecution witnesses — all employees of the agency.

The document included excerpts from Imaan Mazari’s tweets, noting that Chattha had retweeted them.

The NCCIA had earlier registered a case against the activist couple, accusing them in the FIR of attempting to stoke ethnic divisions through their social media posts.

The FIR also alleged that Mazari and Chattha had blamed security forces for enforced disappearances in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The case was registered under Sections 9, 10, 11, and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

Earlier, the district and sessions court in Islamabad issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in the same case.