Jailed lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha receive international human rights prize

ISLAMABAD: Lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha, who are currently in jail, have been awarded the 2026 Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize for their human rights advocacy, according to an official statement by the Forensic Union for the Protection of Human Rights (UFDU).

According to the prize’s official website, the Ludovic Trarieux award is described as the world’s oldest and most prestigious human rights honour for lawyers. It was created in tribute to French lawyer Ludovic Trarieux, who founded the League for the Defence of Human and Citizen Rights in 1898. The first recipient was Nelson Mandela in 1985 while he was imprisoned under South Africa’s apartheid system.

In a press release issued on Saturday, the UFDU said the prize is given each year to a lawyer who has made an exceptional contribution through professional work to defending human rights, the rule of law and opposition to racism and intolerance. The ceremony was held in Rome at the Parlamentino Hall of the National Bar Council, in the presence of Antonino Galletti, coordinator of the European and International Law Commission at the National Bar Council.

The statement said Hadi Chattha has, over the course of his career, represented people facing blasphemy allegations, victims of sexual violence and enforced disappearances, and prisoners on death row. It said Imaan Mazari has provided legal assistance to victims of violence and persecution and has supported vulnerable religious and ethnic communities.

Referring to both lawyers’ work, the statement said they have shared a long professional commitment to defending fundamental freedoms and have represented journalists, activists, victims of enforced disappearances and people prosecuted on blasphemy charges. It added that this work had taken place in recent years amid growing pressure on lawyers and human rights defenders in Pakistan, according to international organisations and observers.

The UFDU said the jury, by conferring the 2026 award, recognised the professional and personal contributions of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in upholding the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and access to justice. Mazari’s mother, Shireen Mazari, also wrote on X that the award was an immense professional honour and thanked those involved for recognising her daughter.

The same announcement said the Bar of the Year 2026 award was given to the South Sudan Bar Association.

Ongoing legal cases

Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha have been in custody since their arrest in January in a case linked to a protest outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and allegations that they manhandled the president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA). Their arrest drew criticism from rights groups, politicians and journalists, who emphasised their right to a fair trial.

A sessions court later sentenced the couple to 17 years in prison in a social media posts case. The matter arose from a complaint filed on August 12, 2025, by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Islamabad assistant director, who was also the investigating officer, before the Cybercrime Reporting Centre of the Federal Investigation Agency under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

According to the complaint, Imaan was accused of circulating and promoting narratives said to align with hostile terrorist groups and banned organisations, while Hadi was implicated for reposting some of her posts. In January, the sessions court sentenced both to 10 years under Section 10 of Peca relating to cyber terrorism, five years under Section 9 concerning glorification of an offence, and two years under Section 26-A relating to false and fake information.

They later challenged the conviction by filing separate appeals in the IHC on February 7. On April 30, the two also approached the Supreme Court, seeking an early hearing of their pleas against the conviction.