OPEN LETTER
To:
Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar
Federal Minister for Law and Justice & Human Rights
S-Block, Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Pakistan: Overturn conviction and release human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha
Dear Minister,
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is a global alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs) and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide. Founded in 1993, CIVICUS has over 15,000 members in 175 countries.
We are writing to you regarding the recent conviction of human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha. On 24 January 2026, the Sessions Court in Islamabad sentenced each of them to 17 years’ imprisonment under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism), and 26-A (false and fake information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The case was based on alleged “anti-state” social media posts published between 2021-2025, which documented human rights violations against ethnic minority Baloch and Pashtun activists and social movements. The human rights defenders are presently held in Adiyala Jail, Rawalpindi.
Imaan Mazari is a human rights lawyer who has represented countless victims of human rights violations, taking up cases of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and custodial violations. Hadi Ali Chattha is a human rights lawyer who has represented countless victims of false blasphemy cases, sexual violence, rape and enforced disappearances in Pakistan.
On 23 January 2026, Islamabad police forcibly arrested Mazari and Chattha while they were travelling in the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) vehicle to the District Sessions Court, accompanied by senior Bar representatives, for their hearing. Police reportedly used undue force and failed to produce either an arrest warrant or a First Information Report (FIR), as required under applicable procedural law. They were taken to an undisclosed location before being placed in judicial remand by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) for a separate case filed in September 2025.
According to human rights groups, their sentencing comes at the end of a flawed and accelerated trial. They were systematically denied their due-process rights including the right to mount an effective defence. Further, throughout the trial, there were repeated attempts to arrest the human rights defenders on false claims of non-appearance in court and/or failure to cooperate with the judicial process. Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha have been targeted repeatedly over the past several years due to their advocacy for victims of violations – especially Baloch human rights defenders and victims of false blasphemy cases.
CIVICUS believes these actions are a clear reprisal for their human rights work and are inconsistent with international law and standards, including the right to freedom of expression. These rights are guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which Pakistan ratified in 2010.
Their arbitrary arrest as well as the systematic harassment against them, have been widely condemned, notably by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. Their prosecution is also inconsistent with the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which state that lawyers should be able to perform their professional duties without intimidation, harassment, or improper interference. Lawyers should not be prosecuted for actions taken in accordance with their professional duties or for the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression.
CIVICUS is also concerned that they were prosecuted using the PECA 2016 – a law widely misused to suppress online expression in Pakistan.
We therefore request your office to take following steps:
- Immediately release Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha and dismiss all criminal cases against them.
- Review the conviction and order a retrial in accordance with due-process and fair trial guarantees.
- Cease the abuse of laws including PECA and the Anti-Terrorism Act as well as counter terror measures to target human rights defenders in Pakistan and move towards repeal or reform of regressive legislation.
- Ensure that all lawyers and human rights defenders in Pakistan can perform their professional duties without fear of reprisals, harassment, or undue interference, in accordance with international standards.
Sincerely,
Reylynne Dela Paz
Advocacy & Campaigns Lead
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
CC:
- Ambassador Bilal Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in Geneva.
- Mohamed Yahya, UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan
