Imaan Mazari, Hadi Ali Chattha sentenced to prison in offensive tweets case

ISLAMABAD: The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad on Saturday sentenced activists Imaan Zainab Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to 17 years’ imprisonment each in an offensive, misleading, and anti-state tweets case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the verdict, imposing a fine of Rs36 million each on both convicts.

Both convicts were produced before the court via video link from Adiala Jail.

According to the verdict, the court awarded five years’ rigorous imprisonment to each accused under Section 9 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 10, and two years’ imprisonment under Section 26-A, bringing the cumulative sentence to 17 years each.

The court ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven its case against both accused.

A day earlier, Mazari and Chattha were arrested in Islamabad. The couple had secured pre-arrest bail on Wednesday after they failed to appear before the court.

They were detained near Serena Chowk by a special police squad while travelling from the Islamabad High Court Bar to the District Courts. At the time of their arrest, they were accompanied by Islamabad High Court Bar Association President Wajid Gillani and Manzoor Jajja.

Earlier, Mazari and Chattha had taken refuge at the Bar president’s office after arrest warrants were issued in connection with a new FIR registered at Kohsar Police Station on July 26, 2025, following a protest by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).

The FIR was registered shortly after the Islamabad High Court reinstated their bail in a separate case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.