The Alliance for Lawyers at Risk joins other organisations in calling for the release of Pakistani human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha.
Mazari and Chattha were arrested on 23 January 2026 by Islamabad police while travelling in the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) vehicle to the District Sessions Court, accompanied by senior Bar representatives, for a hearing in the controversial ‘tweets case’. Police reportedly used undue force and failed to produce either an arrest warrant or a First Information Report (FIR), as required under applicable procedural law, before transferring them to an undisclosed location. Later that day, the couple was kept in a vehicle outside an anti-terrorism court and barred from entering, while proceedings were conducted behind closed doors in the absence of legal counsel.
The arrest occurred despite an order of the Islamabad High Court dated 21 January 2026, granting them temporary relief from arrest, reinstating bail, and guaranteeing the right to a complete defence, including cross-examination. Immediately after the High Court’s 21 January decision, however, Pakistani police invoked a series of previously dormant and backdated FIRs, including a July 2025 terrorism charges case alleging Mazari and Chattha assaulted police during a protest – an allegation firmly denied by them. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed “serious concern” over what it described as the continued harassment of Mazari and Chattha, noting that they were facing “yet another allegedly fabricated FIR”. The couple spent the night sheltering at the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s office before again appearing in High Court, where they were granted two-day protective bail in the newly revived cases.
The statement urges the Pakistani authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha and take measures to ensure the conviction is set aside, as it is based on their legitimate exercise of their human rights and professional functions;
- Ensure Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir’s and Hadi Ali Chattha’s safety in detention, including by protecting against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and guarantee access to legal counsel, family members, food, water, and medical care;
- Conduct an immediate and effective inquiry into the excessive use of force by law enforcement officers during the arrest of the lawyers, and hold those responsible to account;
- Cease the misuse of laws such as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and the Anti-Terrorism Act against lawyers and human rights defenders exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms protected by international law;
- Ensure that all lawyers and human rights defenders in Pakistan can perform their professional duties without fear of reprisals, harassment, or undue interference, in accordance with international standards.
The full statement is available here: