A Pakistani court on Saturday convicted a human rights activist and lawyer, Imaan Mazari and her husband on charges of anti-state social media posts, handing them sentences totalling 17 years, a court order said.
“The prosecution has been able to prove its case,” said the court order seen by Reuters.
Imaan Mazari Alleged Persecution By Pakistan Regime
Mazari, a vocal critic of Pakistan’s powerful military, and her husband were convicted on three counts and sentenced to five-year, 10-year and two-year jail terms that will run concurrently, the court said.
Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, who is also a lawyer, have previously denied the charges, saying they were being persecuted for raising their voice against disappearances of nationalist activists, which they blamed on the military, a charge the army denies.
Human rights groups have questioned the trial, raising concerns over shrinking space for civil rights, freedom of speech and political dissent in the nation of 240 million.
The charges under Pakistan’s controversial cyber crime laws are linked to their social media posts from the period between 2021 and 2025, which the court said furthered the agenda of anti-state militants and portrayed the military as being involved in terrorism.
Responding to Saturday’s court decision, Shireen Mazari, the activist’s mother and a minister in the cabinet of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, said the conviction was illegal without giving defence a chance to present its case.
Who is Imaan Mazari?
Imaan Mazari comes from a prominent family. She is the daughter of Shireen Mazari, Pakistan’s former federal minister for human rights, and the late Dr Tabish Hazir, one of the country’s leading paediatricians.
Her mother acknowledged the toll the situation has taken on the family but said she remains proud of her daughter’s work.
“When so many people are suffering, we expect she will also be made to suffer for speaking out against excesses to human rights,” Shireen Mazari told AFP, describing her daughter’s advocacy for the “dispossessed and marginalised.”
As a pro bono lawyer, Imaan Mazari has handled some of Pakistan’s most sensitive and politically charged cases. Her work has included representing ethnic Balochs in cases of enforced disappearances and defending prominent Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch.
She has also represented individuals accused of blasphemy and Afghans targeted in government crackdowns.
Despite the prison sentence and mounting pressure, Imaan Mazari remains resolute.
“We’re not the first people who will be unlawfully incarcerated in this country,” she told AFP. “We will keep fighting.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
