In Pakistan, the sentencing of human rights attorney couple Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha has sparked condemnation from the United Nations, international legal bodies, and the country’s rights groups. A report in Christian Daily International says, the critics have warned that the case represents a dangerous escalation in the suppression of dissent and legal advocacy in Pakistan. The couple were sentenced in January, this year by a sessions court in Islamabad under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act for social media posts critical of state institutions. Both of them received multiple concurrent sentences of imprisonment totalling 17 years. Rights groups and legal observers have described the convictions as politically motivated and the trial as deeply flawed, raising alarm over shrinking civic space and judicial independence in the country.
The UN Human Rights Office stated that it was deeply disturbed by the sentencing of Mazari and Chattha and that criminal sanctions for peaceful expression are incompatible with Pakistan’s obligations as per international human rights law. The European Union also voiced similar concerns, stressing that the conviction of Mazari and Chattha undermines freedom of expression and the independence of the legal profession, principles important for the rule of law. According to the report, Amnesty International has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Mazari and Chattha, terming their arrest arbitrary and part of a broader pattern of harassment of human rights activists. A coalition of international legal organisations, including the International Commission of Jurists, Lawyers for Lawyers, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, in a joint statement, condemned the sentencing of the couple. The sentencing of Mazari and Chattha has sparked protests in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan described the sentencing of the couple as symptomatic of a rapidly worsening environment for activists and lawyers who fight sensitive cases that involve state power, religion, or national security.
