ISLAMABAD: Lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, on Saturday challenged their convictions in the Islamabad High Court in a case relating to controversial social media posts.
The couple was last month sentenced by a district and sessions court to 17 years’ imprisonment each under various provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The verdict, spanning 22 pages, was authored by Additional Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka.
In separate appeals filed before the high court, the petitioners contended that their convictions stemmed from what they described as a patently illegal and arbitrary trial. They also requested suspension of their sentences and sought release on bail pending the final disposal of their appeals.
The petitions further urged the court to grant any other relief deemed just and appropriate under the circumstances.
Mazari and Chattha were booked by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of PECA and were indicted on October 30. According to the first information report, the couple allegedly attempted to incite divisions on linguistic grounds through posts shared on social media.
Earlier, the petitioners had also approached the Islamabad High Court seeking the transfer of the case to another court, citing a lack of confidence in the trial judge.