Islamabad court indicts Imaan Mazari, husband in controversial tweet case

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  A collage of Pakistani lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari and her husband Advocate Hadi Ali Chatha seen encircled by the police personnel outside a local court in Islamabad. — X@alihamzaisb

A local court in Islamabad on Thursday officially framed the charges against activist and lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha in a case linked to a controversial tweet.

Additional Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka issued the charge sheet against the two, who denied the charges. The judge then adjourning the proceedings until November 5, while ordering the prosecution to ensure the presence of all witnesses at the next hearing. Advertisement

The court also asked Chattha to resubmit his surety bonds.  

The case was registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency （NCCIA） against Mazari and Chatta, who was arrested last night （Wednesday）.

The arrest was made following the issuance of an arrest warrant by Additional Sessions Judge Majoka for skipping the case\“s hearing earlier in the day.  

Last month, the same court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imaan and her husband in the case.

According to the first information report （FIR） of the case, registered by the NCCIA, Mazari and Chattha were accused of attempting to incite divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts.

The case has been registered under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act （Peca）, 2016.
Previous cases

The couple had been arrested in the past as well, in different cases. In October 2024, Imaan and Chattha were arrested in a case pertaining to alleged interference in government operations.

The couple was arrested by the Islamabad police for allegedly “creating a security risk” during the England cricket team’s visit by removing road barriers.

A video, shared on social media on October 25, purportedly showed Imaan and Chattha moving road barriers to clear the path for traffic.

In August 2023, Imaan was taken into custody by Islamabad police alongside former lawmaker Ali Wazir in a sedition case.

Although she had secured the bail, she was immediately re-arrested outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail the same day in connection with a terrorism case.

Imaan was eventually freed on September 2, 2023, after an Islamabad anti-terrorism court approved her post-arrest bail.