ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, five UN special rapporteurs publicly condemned the conviction and lengthy imprisonment of a prominent human rights advocate and her lawyer husband in Pakistan, accusing authorities of targeting individuals over “anti-state” social media activity.
Imaan Mazari, a 32-year-old attorney and outspoken critic of Pakistan’s military, was accused by an Islamabad court of sharing “highly offensive” content on the social media platform X. She and her spouse, Hadi Ali Chattha, were sentenced to prison on January 25, with the court ruling that they must serve ten years behind bars.
The UN experts argued that their imprisonment was a violation of fundamental rights, emphasizing that they had been jailed simply for exercising freedoms protected under international human rights law. “Lawyers, like all individuals, are entitled to freedom of expression. The exercise of this right should never be equated with criminal activity, particularly not terrorism,” the joint statement read. They warned that such actions could undermine and criminalize the work of legal professionals and human rights advocates throughout Pakistan, creating a chilling effect on civil society.
Mazari gained recognition for her courageous stance on Pakistan’s most contentious issues, including defending ethnic minorities, journalists facing defamation cases, and clients accused of blasphemy. As a pro bono lawyer, she has taken on high-profile cases involving enforced disappearances of Baloch communities and defending leading Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch.
While Mazari and her husband have faced multiple legal challenges before, this marks their first conviction. The UN specialists highlighted concerns that these prosecutions appear to be arbitrary and politically motivated, serving as tools of harassment and intimidation for their advocacy work.
The experts emphasized that governments have a duty to protect lawyers from persecution related to their professional activities and to prevent their association with clients from being used as a basis for criminal charges.
The statement was endorsed by the special rapporteurs on human rights defenders, judicial independence, freedom of opinion, association, and anti-terrorism measures.
It is important to note that UN special rapporteurs act independently and do not speak on behalf of the UN as an institution. Their concerns have been formally communicated to authorities in Islamabad.
