Lawyers in Pakistan’s capital shut down courts on Monday as the Islamabad Bar Association observed a complete strike to protest the arrest and conviction of human rights advocates Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha.
Lawyers forced police personnel to leave court premises, halting all judicial proceedings, according to bar officials.
Protesters later held a rally outside the courts, marching onto a main road and chanting slogans against the police and what they described as “political victimization.”
Bar leaders condemned the arrests and sentencing as unjust and unlawful, demanded the immediate release of the two lawyers, and warned that protests would intensify if their demands were not met.
Traffic on nearby roads was disrupted for several hours, while police were deployed in large numbers around the court complex to maintain order.
Islamabad court sentences Mazari, Chattha for 17 years
The protests followed a ruling on Saturday in which a court in Islamabad sentenced Mazari and Chattha to a combined 17 years in prison for spreading what it termed anti-state content on social media, according to a judgment seen by Nukta.
Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka convicted Imaan Zainab Mazari Hazir — a lawyer and daughter of former federal minister Shireen Mazari — and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, under Sections 9, 10 and 26-A of Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, or PECA, enacted in 2016.
PECA is Pakistan’s primary cybercrime law and has been repeatedly used in cases involving online speech, particularly content critical of state institutions.
The court sentenced the couple to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and a PKR 5 million fine each under Section 9, 10 years and PKR 30 million under Section 10, and two years and PKR 1 million under Section 26-A.
The total fine imposed amounts to PKR 36 million. The judgment said failure to pay would result in additional simple imprisonment.
The ruling said Mazari and Chattha appeared via video link from Central Jail Rawalpindi but boycotted the proceedings, declined to testify or present defense evidence, and did not cross-examine prosecution witnesses despite opportunities granted by the Islamabad High Court.
What's the case?
The case centers on posts made on X, formerly known as Twitter, from their verified accounts, @ImaanZHazir and @AdvHadiali.
Prosecutors alleged the posts aligned with banned militant groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, as well as the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, and referenced individuals listed by authorities as proscribed.
The judgment said both defendants admitted ownership of the accounts during the investigation and that the posts remained publicly accessible.
In its 22-page ruling, the court cited specific posts, including calls for protests demanding the release of activist Mahrang Baloch and members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.
One repost by Chattha quoted Baloch as saying that imprisonment could not crush a movement and demanded the release of several activists described in the post as illegally detained.
Mazari also posted an image of Baloch making a victory sign, which Chattha later reposted.
Other posts cited by the court accused the state of enforced disappearances, alleged the existence of “torture cells,” and blamed security institutions for violence.
One post by Mazari described the disappearance of a relative of a Pashtun Tahafuz Movement leader as an attack by what she termed a “terrorist State.”
The convictions have sparked protests among sections of Pakistan’s legal community, with the Islamabad Bar warning that further action would follow unless the sentences are withdrawn.
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