Name: Pakistan: human rights lawyer couple sentenced to 10 years in prison over online posts | DW News
Uploaded: 2026-01-26T17:04:58.000Z
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A court in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, has handed a 10 year prison sentence to two outspoken human rights lawyers.

Imam Mazari, the daughter of a former minister, rose to national prominence by taking on some of the country's most sensitive cases involving vulnerable communities and ethnic minorities.

Basic passive voice

A vocal critic of Pakistan's powerful military, Mazari and her husband, fellow lawyer Hadi Ali, were sentenced on multiple charges over social media posts.

they say that they are being targeted for speaking out about the disappearance of activists.

Amnesty International says the case constitutes a blatant abuse of the justice system.

Let's bring in now digital rights activist Osama Hilji.

First of all, walk us through some of the charges that have been leveled against this couple.

The couple has been charged with charges related to sharing false information about the government and its military.

And the couple is also charged with cyber terrorism, which is a very serious sentence, but

essentially for speaking out against the enforced disappearance of activists, especially in the rest of Balochistan province, which the state accuses of being terrorists.

But the lawyers always argue that their disappearance is against the constitution and law.

So speech, really, under the cybercrime laws.

Why does the state seem to find Mazari's tweets so offensive and punishable?

I think it's Mazari's and Hadi's case is a typical case of speaking truth to power.

They take on the cases as lawyers in cases that most lawyers shy away from or, you know, it's their courage that really drives their legal practice.

Includes cases related to blasphemy cases where young people are trapped into blasphemy cases just by honey trapping.

And also cases related to enforced disappearances of activists across the country, something that's a controversial issue and most lawyers are very afraid of taking up.

So these are the issues that they were talking about on their social media platforms.

And what has been now the reaction to this case.

Are human rights defenders such as yourself and even journalists speaking openly and publicly about this case, or do they feel that they can speak without repercussions?

Right now, I think this case is really a litmus test for democracy and basic fundamental rights in this country.

What we've seen is that, you know, hundreds of people have spoken out against this, even the most prominent activists and lawyers.

We've seen protests, sizable protests at a time when protests are largely, you know, a no go area and outlawed.

Even today in Islamabad, the lawyers in Large numbers came out to protest this sentence.

And on social media we're seeing a very shocked populace where lawyers, law abiding citizens are charged with more than 10 years of jail simply for tweeting a few things around issues that concern the law and the Constitution.

Talk with us a little bit more about the use of the state using cybercrime, cybercrime laws to crush dissent.

What are your fears in particular when you look at the situation through the lens of a human rights defender?

Yeah, the cybercrime law in Pakistan is around 10 years old this year.

And when it was being passed, we always warned the government, the state and the politicians who were passing it that we're sure this is going to be used for political purposes and will be abused because of its vague provisions.

And this law was particularly amended last year by the current government where they added disinformation clause saying that you can go to jail for more than three years simply for sharing, quote, unquote, false information.

But the definition of false information was never given.

But now we know and it's been proven that it's being used to silence dissidents, activists who speak out and criticize the government.

And whatever they say the government is doing, if the government doesn't like it, they can label it as false information, put you in jail and, you know, undermine your basic right to freedom of speech and expression.

Can you take us down back to the legality of the case that we have been discussing?

What legal routes do Missouri and her husband now have?

So this was the lower court, the district in session court that gave them the sentence.

But lawyers have been outlining how due process rights have been severely undermined.

They weren't even allowed access to their lawyer at the time the sentence was pronounce.

They were already in detention, which is clearly not allowed under the law.

And what's also happened throughout this case is that they weren't allowed to finish the cross examination of witnesses against them.

So they're grave violation of the fundamental rights that they're allowed by the constitution.

And in particular, there was a transfer application pending before the High Court, a complaint against the judge that announced this.

And under the Pakistani laws, the judge cannot really pronounce a sentence when a transfer application appeal is pending before the higher courts.

So I think when they appeal this sentence in the High Court, it's going to be very difficult for the government to maintain the sentence.

Well, we thank you so much for joining us to share your views not only on this case, but

also more broadly on the legal situation in Pakistan.

And let's speak now to journalist and rights activist Munizi Jahagir.

You've criticized Mazari and her husband's arrest.

Well, Iman Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, were arrested for supporting Mahram Baloch, who is also an activist and a rights activist in Balochistan.

She's fighting against enforced disappearances in Pakistan.

And Iman Mazari and her husband were supporting Maharang Baloch at the time against the state's enforced disappearances of people.

This is a big human rights issue in Pakistan.

And for supporting Maharan Baloch and for also tweeting what.

What the state calls against the state, they have been given 10 years in prison under a very controversial Pakistan Electronic Crimes act, where all journalist bodies agree that this is a controversial law and it has been made without the proper consultations of journalist bodies.

There have been protests against this law under which they have been implicated and convicted.

And journalist bodies have a consensus that these laws should be repealed by the state of Pakistan because they victimized journalists and human rights activists.

And we have seen just that, that for tweeting and the tweets that they have taken offense to, they have not really told the court, has not really pinpointed any specific tweets in this case, just referred to some random tweets and said that, you know, she was supporting prescribed people who were prescribed terrorists.

So these are very vague allegations under which 10 years have been given to these two lawyers.

And that's why there is such a big outcry, because it's a very big misuse of this law for quashing dissent and also for muzzling, you know, the voices of human rights defenders in Pakistan.

But tell me, why is the state taking so much offense then?

Well, the situation is very problematic because there has been a controversial election.

And in Pakistan, we have seen that there are always controversial elections.

But in this election and the elections previously to this, where we had Imran Khan, who's now incarcerated, and

There has been widespread accusations that the military has engineered the, you know, the.

The elections in a way that they have brought a party of their own choice.

And when they bring a party of their own choice, then there are accusations that this is a hybrid regime that the military and the civilian government at the time together run the state of affairs.

And if there is criticism on the military, because in, in our country in general, what people claim is that, and

experts claim is that the interior matters of interior law are looked at by the military.

And when the military is looking issues and when there is criticism on the military for things like enforced disappearances, for example, then the military comes down very hard on those who are making those accusations.

In this case, it is Maharang Baloch in Balochistan and Iman Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattaher in Islamabad.

Similarly, we have seen that they have also arrested other activists and other politicians who have spoken about rights of their own people, who are the marginalized communities, such as Ali Wazir, who hails from the northwest border right next to Afghanistan.

We've had around eight journalists in the recent past who have been arrested for tweets that they have made on.

And most of them, these are very, very vague charges.

In one case, one of the journalists was accused of interviewing a politician from the opposition, and

that is why he was arrested under the PICA law.

So the PICA law, as we see it as journalists of this country and human rights activists of this country, it is being misused to quash dissent.

Okay, Mounee Zeh Jahagir, thank you very much for joining us here on DW News.