The United Nations Human Rights Office, along with several other human rights and legal organisations, strongly condemned the conviction and sentencing of Pakistani human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chatta, citing concerns over the misuse of laws under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to suppress dissent across the country.

The remarks came after a Pakistani court last week reportedly sentenced Imaan and her husband, Hadi, to a combined 17 years in prison and fined each of them 36 million Pakistani rupees on multiple charges in a case linked to social media posts. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights described the conviction and sentencing of Imaan and Hadi under PECA, following concerns over fair trial, as deeply disturbing.

Condemning the judicial persecution, several international legal and human rights organisations said the arbitrary arrest and conviction of both lawyers constituted the latest escalation in a pattern of continued harassment against the couple in retaliation for the legitimate exercise of their human rights and professional functions. The signatories stated that the use of PECA over social media posts illustrates how the Pakistani authorities are weaponising the justice system to punish dissent and target legitimate human rights work.