The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday fixed for hearing the appeals of human rights lawyer advocate Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha against their conviction in the controversial social media posts case.
According to the cause list issued by the registrar’s office, IHC’s Justice Muhammad Asif will take up the appeals on Thursday (February 19).
The court also scheduled for hearing applications seeking the suspension of sentences awarded to the two lawyers.
Last month, Imaan and Hadi were handed a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) by a sessions court in Islamabad, sparking outrage among rights groups, opposition parties, and other segments of society.
The written order by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka said the prosecution had proved its case against Imaan and Hadi under Sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism) and 26-A (false information) of Peca. Under Section 9 of Peca, both were sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs5 million each, with an additional year in default.
For Section 10, they were each handed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs30m, with two more years in default. Under Section 26-A, they received two years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs1m each, with six months’ additional jail time in case of non-payment. All sentences will run concurrently.
On Feb 7, the couple had challenged the trial court’s order. In their appeals, the two contended that the impugned judgment was passed in blatant violation of settled legal principles and mandatory procedural requirements.
They argued that the trial court proceeded to pronounce the verdict despite the fact that an application seeking transfer of the case was pending adjudication before the IHC, rendering the decision “unlawful and without jurisdiction”.
On January 29, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and its partner organisations published a joint statement condemning the “arbitrary arrest” and conviction of the two lawyers, calling for their release.
Separately, the United Nations Human Rights Office also said that the conviction and sentencing of the couple “following fair trial concerns” was deeply disturbing”.
The European Union’s (EU) Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Anouar El Anouni had also raised concerns over the conviction of Imaan and Hadi. The EU official said their convictions “over social media activity goes against freedom of expression and independence of lawyers”.
“These are not only key democratic principles but also part of [Pakistan’s] international human rights commitments,” Anouni said.
Further, five United Nations experts on Feb 4 expressed alarm over the conviction. In a joint statement, UN special rapporteurs Margaret Satterthwaite, Ben Saul, Mary Lawlor, Irene Khan and Gina Romero noted that the two were convicted on multiple criminal charges, which resulted in lengthy prison sentences “for simply exercising rights guaranteed by international human rights law”.
“Lawyers, like other individuals, are entitled to freedom of expression. The exercise of this right should never be conflated with criminal conduct, especially not terrorism,” they were quoted as saying, while also emphasising the vague definition of terrorism-related offences under Pakistan’s counter-terrorism framework.
“Doing so risks undermining and criminalising the work of lawyers and human rights defenders across Pakistan and has a chilling effect on civil society in the country,” the experts said.