Amnesty International has issued an urgent appeal to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calling for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha.
The two lawyers were convicted last month in Islamabad over alleged posts and reposts on X that authorities described as anti-state. The case was filed in August 2025 by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 with claims that the content aimed to undermine state institutions or support proscribed organizations.
Amnesty said the convictions were the result of a trial conducted with unusual haste during which the lawyers were denied the right to cross examine witnesses or present evidence.Their conviction was announced even as a transfer application against the presiding judge whom the couple had accused of bias was still pending.
The organisation described Mazari and Chattha as dedicated human rights defenders who have represented journalists, activists and victims of enforced disappearances. Amnesty warned that their imprisonment denies access to justice for their clients and constitutes a misuse of cybercrime laws to silence peaceful dissent, violating Pakistan’s international human rights obligations.
Amnesty urged the government to quash the convictions and prevent the targeting of human rights defenders through the criminal justice system.
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