ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the sentences of human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse, Hadi Ali Chattha, in the controversial social media posts case.

The development came as a two-judge SC bench, comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, took up the couple’s appeals against the Islamabad High Court’s refusal in February to suspend the sentences.

On January 24, an Islamabad sessions court sentenced Imaan and Hadi to a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

On Thursday, the SC ordered the couple’s release after granting them bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000. It ordered their release on bail pending the IHC’s final verdict.

“Both are lawyers and we are keeping their honour,” observed Justice Afghan, but also asked senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui, the couple’s lawyer, to tell the appellants to observe the court’s decorum.

“There is a difference between a lawyer and an ordinary person,” the judge observed.

Imaan and Hadi have been in jail since their arrest on January 23 in a case registered against them for protesting outside the IHC and allegedly manhandling the IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) president. The arrest prompted criticism by rights bodies, politicians and journalists, who stressed the couple’s right to a fair trial.

Just a day later, a sessions court convicted Imaan and Hadi in the social media posts case.

It sentenced the duo to 10 years’ imprisonment under Section 10 (cyber terrorism), five years’ imprisonment under Section 9 (glorification of an offence) and two years’ imprisonment under Section 26-A (false and fake information) of Peca.

The case

The case against Imaan and Hadi stemmed from a complaint filed on Aug 12, 2025 by the assistant director (investigating officer) at the NCCIA Islamabad, before the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cybercrime Reporting Centre.

The complaint accused Imaan of disseminating and “propagating narratives that align with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed organisations”, while her husband was implicated for reposting some of her posts.

The first information report (FIR) in the case alleged that the two held security forces responsible for cases of missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

It also stated that they had portrayed the armed forces as ineffective against proscribed groups, including the banned outfits Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Judge Majoka indicted Imaan and Hadi on Oct 30, 2025 and then issued arrest warrants for the couple on Nov 5, 2025.

Following their convictions in January, which were widely condemned by lawyers and United Nations (UN) experts, the couple challenged their convictions before the IHC on February 7.

More to follow