Lawyer says Iman Mazari, Hadi Ali kept in solitary confinement

ISLAMABAD: Human rights lawyer Iman Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatha, are being held in solitary confinement, their lawyer said on Monday, amid ongoing questions about their access to legal counsel and family visits.

Speaking to HUM News English, lawyer Zainab Janjua said that Mazari and Chatha have not been moved to B-class facilities, and that jail authorities had yet to act on a request by the Islamabad Bar Association.

 She said that Mazari has not even been provided with a notepad. Janjua said that both detainees remained in high spirits despite the restrictions.

Former federal minister Shireen Mazari said that attempts to send Mazari stationery had been blocked by jail authorities, adding, “We need to make this public.”

The Islamabad High Court had previously issued a written order directing that Mazari and Chatha be allowed meetings with family members and lawyers.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir had noted that although the couple was sentenced on January 24, prison authorities had not facilitated such meetings, and clarified that under prison rules such issues should first be addressed with the relevant administrative forum before seeking judicial intervention.

Earlier, Additional District and Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka sentenced Mazari and Chatha to 17 years of rigorous imprisonment each over social media posts that allegedly promoted banned organisations and disseminated material against state institutions.

The couple, both lawyers, were found guilty under Sections 9, 10, and 26-A of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), covering glorification of an offence, cyberterrorism, and dissemination of false or fake information. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently, with fines imposed under each section and additional jail time if fines remain unpaid.

The court said that the couple had deliberately propagated content portraying Pakistan as a “terrorist state,” glorifying banned groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and expressing support for activists such as Mahrang Baloch, Ali Wazir, and Manzoor Pashteen.

Five prosecution witnesses, including officials from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, testified that the accused disseminated anti-state content via social media posts and retweets. The court rejected the defence argument that expressing views about proscribed individuals was harmless, noting that the posts undermined public trust in state institutions, particularly law enforcement and the armed forces.

The judgment also took into account that the accused were under judicial remand in another case during the inquiry and attended proceedings via video link. Time already spent in detention was counted towards their sentence under Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The case originates from a complaint filed in August 2025 by Sub-Inspector Sharooz Riaz, alleging that Mazari had consistently disseminated misleading and anti-state content on social media with the involvement of her husband.

The Islamabad High Court had earlier directed the completion of cross-examination of prosecution witnesses before the verdict was issued.