Islamabad, Jan 26: A lawyer couple in Pakistan, often representing people who challenge human rights violations, have been sentenced by a sessions court for statements considered too controversial to be shared on a social media platform. The conviction of Imaan Zainab-Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, conveys the message to lawyers, journalists and ordinary people that dissent will not only be discouraged, but will be criminalised, a report has stated.
Imaan Zainab-Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, are human rights lawyers and activists popular for fighting cases involving enforced disappearances, blasphemy accusations, and judicial independence. They have often represented people in court who cannot afford to pay for legal counsel or who can navigate a broken justice system on their own, according to an editorial in Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn.
In the past few weeks, the couple is facing several legal cases, including previously undisclosed case that resurfaced after request was made for their detention. This development led to their arrest on January 23, followed by a conviction the very next day.
In the case, the complainant National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority accused Mazari in July last year of “disseminating and propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”.
Hadi Ali Chattha was also found complicit as he reposted those posts on social media, the Dawn reported. The court order issued by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka held the couple guilty for ‘glorification of an offence’, ‘cyberterrorism’ and ‘false and fake information’.
The Dawn editorial stated, “Their punishment: rigorous imprisonment for five years and a fine of Rs 5m each for the first charge; 10 years and Rs 30m each for the second; and two years and Rs 1m each for the third. One does not need the content of the offending tweets to guess what they likely said, just as one does not need legal reasoning to understand this verdict.”
“Our legal community has historically played a central role in resisting despotism and defending constitutional norms. This conviction raises the question of whether that tradition is being deliberately weakened through harsh punishment. If such convictions stand, the message to lawyers, journalists and citizens alike is unmistakable: dissent will not merely be discouraged, it will be criminalised,” it added.
–IANS