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UN experts on Wednesday expressed alarm at the conviction of lawyers and human rights defenders Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha on multiple criminal charges, which resulted in lengthy prison sentences, for simply exercising rights guaranteed by international human rights law, as per a statement by the Special Procedures United Nations Human Rights Council.
The statement said, "Lawyers, like other individuals, are entitled to freedom of expression. The exercise of this right should never be conflated with criminal conduct, especially not terrorism," the experts said, emphasising the broad and vague definition of terrorism-related offences under Pakistan's counter-terrorism framework. "Doing so risks undermining and criminalising the work of lawyers and human rights defenders across Pakistan and has a chilling effect on civil society in the country." The statement noted that on August 22, 2025, a criminal prosecution was initiated against Mazari-Hazir for posting on X and against Ali Chattha for sharing and reposting her posts. On 24 January 2026, Mazari-Hazir and Ali Chattha were convicted of offences under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber-terrorism) and 26-A (false and fake information) of Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016. They each received multiple concurrent sentences of imprisonment, totalling 17 years, with the longest being a 10-year sentence for cyber-terrorism. They were also fined a total of 36 million rupees each. The experts noted that these are not the first prosecutions of the two lawyers, who have faced 10 criminal complaints since 2022, some of which remain pending. They have never previously been convicted of wrongdoing, the statement said. It further added, "This pattern of prosecutions suggests an arbitrary use of the legal system as an instrument of harassment and intimidation in order to punish them for their work advocating for victims of alleged human rights violations," they said. "States must ensure lawyers are not subject to prosecution for any professional action, and that lawyers are not identified with their clients." According to the statement, the proceedings against the two lawyers progressed at an alarming pace. Mazari-Hazir and Ali Chattha reportedly had inadequate time to prepare their defence. They also encountered obstacles in accessing counsel of their choosing, and evidence was taken from prosecution witnesses in their absence. "International standards provide a set of procedural guarantees that must be made available to persons charged with a criminal offence, but these appear to have been undermined in this case," the experts said. "These violations seriously threaten the fairness of the trial and conviction", it further said and mentioned that the UN experts have contacted Pakistan regarding their concerns. (ANI)
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