Story perspectives

Supreme Court Grants Bail to Mazari After Rs200,000 Bonds

By Drooid · Sep 17, 2026, 6:39 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Supreme Court Grants Bail

Pakistan's Supreme Court granted bail to lawyer Imaan Mazari and husband Hadi Ali Chattha.
The bench required each to post a Rs200,000 surety bond before release.
Their 17-year sentence from Jan 24 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) was suspended pending Islamabad High Court review.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency challenged the Supreme Court’s May 12 order directing the IHC to act.

Summary

UN Experts Question Trial

Supreme Court bench directed Additional Attorney General Rana Asadullah Khan to sit, highlighting procedural tension.
United Nations experts and Amnesty International publicly questioned the fairness of Mazari and Chattha’s trial.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan said lawyers receive different treatment than ordinary citizens in court.
Senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui instructed the couple to observe courtroom decorum.
Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim described the current legal developments as an era of surprises.

History

Historical Context

After the International Commission of Jurists created its Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers in 1978, it helped draft the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers adopted by the General Assembly in 1995. The resolution, backed by many states, urged fair bail, a standard invoked as Pakistan’s Supreme Court grants bail to Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha amid cyber-crime challenges.

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Supreme Court Grants Bail

Pakistan's Supreme Court granted bail to lawyer Imaan Mazari and husband Hadi Ali Chattha.
The bench required each to post a Rs200,000 surety bond before release.
Their 17-year sentence from Jan 24 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) was suspended pending Islamabad High Court review.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency challenged the Supreme Court’s May 12 order directing the IHC to act.

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