IHC reinstates bail, right to defence for Imaan, Hadi in social media posts case
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday reinstated the bail of lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in the controversial social media posts case, after it was cancelled by a sessions court on January 15.
In the case registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca), the two have been accused of inciting divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts and creating the impression that the armed forces were engaged in terrorism within the country.
On January 17, Mazari and Chattha challenged their arrest orders in the IHC, arguing that the trial court had unlawfully curtailed their right of defence, issued arrest warrants without fulfilling mandatory legal requirements, and ordered judicial custody along with virtual production.
A day earlier, Justice Azam Khan of the IHC, who has been presiding over the hearing, granted Mazari and Chattha a one-day protective bail, directing them to appear in court today.
During today’s hearing, the IHC judge reinstated the bail from earlier, suspending the arrest warrant issued by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.
He further directed them to complete the cross-examination in three days and reinstated their right to defence.
At this, the couple’s legal counsel, Kamran Murtaza, requested the court to grant one week.
“I will look into it. You should proceed with the trial,” the judge remarked.
During yesterday’s hearing, Murtaza informed the court that his clients’ bail had twice been cancelled.
“Now an order has been issued to arrest them,” he said.
He maintained that “if there were any misdoings on his client’s part, the judge should demonstrate patience”.
“The judge is holding hearings every 15 minutes,” he said.
Earlier in the same day, Judge Majoka had expressed displeasure over why the accused had not yet been arrested during a hearing.
He directed the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency officials to obtain a search warrant for the accused’s residence from a magistrate and ordered them to present Mazari and Chattha in court by 11am.
However, after the IHC’s orders, the hearing was adjourned to January 20 (today).
Judge Majoka directed that the accused should be presented in the sessions court “within one hour of their appearance at IHC”.
