Islamabad, September 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Amnesty International has condemned the re-arrest of Pakistani human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha, hours after the Supreme Court granted them bail, alleging that authorities are using the justice system to target critical voices.
Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for South Asia Babu Ram Pant said the re-arrest undermined any suggestion that the charges against the two lawyers were unrelated to their human rights work.
“Imaan and Hadi’s re-arrest dispels any pretence that the charges against them are anything other than a politically motivated attempt to punish them for their human rights work,” Pant said.
He described the latest charges, reportedly linked to the lawyers’ participation in a peaceful protest, as an attack on their long-standing human rights work.
Pant urged Pakistani authorities to release the two lawyers immediately and unconditionally and refrain from bringing further charges that could prolong their detention. He also said they should be allowed to meet their families and continue representing victims of human rights violations.
The development came after a Supreme Court bench questioned the conduct of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), observing that it was unusual for the high court to refer to the apex court’s May 12 order without following it, according to Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune.
Mazari-Hazir and Chattha were arrested on January 23, following which an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) sent them to 14 days of judicial remand.
The following day, the District and Sessions Court sentenced each of them to 17 years in prison and imposed a fine of PKR 36 million in a case involving multiple charges linked to social media posts.
The two lawyers challenged their convictions before the IHC and subsequently sought suspension of their sentences. With the matter remaining pending before the high court, they approached the Supreme Court seeking suspension of their sentences, The Express Tribune reported.
The latest re-arrest has drawn renewed scrutiny from rights groups over the treatment of lawyers involved in human rights work and the use of legal proceedings against critical voices in Pakistan.
FOLLOW NOW
