Imaan MAZARI and Hadi Ali CHATTHAJOINTLY PRIZEWINNERS OF LUDOVIC-TRARIEUX PRIZE 2026

Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize 2026

Prix International des droits de l'homme Ludovic-Trarieux 2026

Premio Internacional de Derechos Humanos Ludovic Trarieux 2026

Internationalen Ludovic-Trarieux-Menschenrechtspreis 2026

Pr mio Internacional de Direitos Humanos Ludovic Trarieux 2026

Premio Internazionale per i Diritti Umani Ludovic Trarieux 2026

Ludovic Trarieux Internationale Mensenrechtenprijs 2026

Depuis/Since/Desde/Seit/Dal/Sinds 1984

Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize 2026

awarded jointly to

Imaan Zainab MAZARI-HAZIR and Hadi Ali CHATTHA

PAKISTAN

Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir (Imaan Mazari) born in 1994 in Islamabad is a lawyer and woman human rights defender who has been active in supporting victims of violence and persecution to seek legal redress. Hailing from South Punjab, Imaan Hazir Mazari is the daughter of Shireen Mazari, a prominent figure in Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf political party, She pursued her Law studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK, following the completion of her LLB in Pakistan. Founding partner, MH Advocates & Legal Consultants. International law researcher, she is a vocal advocate for the rights of persecuted religious and ethnic communities and against human rights violations and abuse, especially perpetrated by the Pakistani military and security forces.

On 20 August 2023, Imaan Mazari was arrested by the Islamabad Police at 3:30am from her house without being shown an arrest warrant or being given a reason for arrest. It is reported that the woman human rights defender was not even allowed to change her clothes before she was taken away. Moreover, she reported that the CCTV camera in her house was broken and her residence was raided. The arrest comes two days after a speech she gave at a public rally organised by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) rights group in Islamabad on 18 August 2023 during which she criticised the Pakistani military for abuses and human rights violations.

As a result of her speech, two cases have been lodged at the Tarnol police station and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station against Imaan Mazari, including on allegations of terorrism and sedition. In addition to Imaan Mazari, former lawmaker and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir, has in the same time been arrested under cases filed by the CTD. Ali Wazir, who was a founding member of the PTM, has recently spent over two years in prison on separate sedition charges.

The First Information Report (FIR) against Imman Mazari filed by Islamabad's CTD include terror charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act and serious offences under the Penal Code including: sedition (section 124A); incitement to riot (sections 148, 149, 153); promotion of enmity between groups (section 153A); and criminal intimidation (sections 506).

A further FIR was filed against Imaan Mazari accusing her of attempting to Interfere in State Affairs and cites offences under the Penal Code including: rioting armed with a deadly weapon (Section 148); assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty (section 353); mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt (section 440); criminal intimidation (506ii); dacoity (section 395); wrongful restraint (section 341); unlawful assembly (section 149); obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions (section 186); and disobedience of an order by a public servant (188). The practice of filing multiple legal cases is intended to obstruct the course of justice and prolong the incarceration of human rights defenders by any means

On 22 August 2023, Imaan Mazari had been granted bail by a judicial magistrate in the case filed against her under the Penal Code of Pakistan, including sedition and offences under the Anti-Terrorism Act. But she remained in Adiala prison in Punjab due to the additional FIR containing charges of terror and sedition.

On 28 August 2023, Imaan Mazari was granted bail in a case which had been filed against her containing charges of terror and sedition, which raised hopes for her release. However, Pakistani police re-arrested the woman human rights defender on the same day in a separate case which includes allegations of funding terrorist activities under the Anti-Terror Act, effectively preventing her release.

On 2 September 2023, Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir (Imaan Mazari) was granted bail by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad. Imaan Mazari was released on 2 September 2023 but continues to fight the charges against her including sedition and offences under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Imaan Mazari married on 28 December 2023, with Abdul Hadi, a human rights lawyer and the creator and executive director of Fair Trial Defenders.

Hadi Ali Chattha is a human rights lawyer and a criminal law specialist, who has represented over a dozen victims falsely accused of blasphemy. Hadi Ali Chattha began his legal career with the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, working pro bono to represent victims of sexual violence, rape and enforced disappearances. He has also worked with Justice Project Pakistan on cases of prisoners in death row. He was Vice Chairman, Human Rights Committee of Punjab Bar Council from February 2019 to July 2020 and General Secretary, Human Rights Committee in Multan (Pendjab). Hadi Ali Chattha and Imaan Mazari have defended the rights of countless people and are currently representing journalists, activists and victims of enforced disappearances and blasphemy allegations

They were detained in September 2025 by police alledging that Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha during a protest on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to oppose the suspension of Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri from judicial work, they assaulted with more than 150 individuals, the bar leadership and chanted derogatory slogans against the chief justice and the Pakistan Army. However, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted to the couple a transit bail, three days after it was booked.

On 12 August 2025, a criminal prosecution was initiated against Mazari-Hazir in the tweets case , for posting on X and against Ali Chattha for sharing and reposting controversial tweets against the state and national security institutions. The case was filed by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali were detained on 28 October 2024 by the Islamabad police for creating a security risk by interfering in state duties during an international cricket team s visit . under anti-terrorism laws. Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali were sent on a three-day physical remand by an Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) for removing road barriers placed for security.

On 23 January 2026, Islamabad police arrested Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha while they were travelling in the Islamabad High Court Bar Association s (IHCBA) to the District Sessions Court a hearing in the controversial tweets case . Police reportedly used undue force and failed to produce either an arrest warrant or a First Information Report (FIR), before transferring them to an undisclosed location. Later the same day, the couple was kept in a vehicle outside an anti-terrorism court and barred from entering, while proceedings were conducted behind closed doors in the absence of legal counsel.

The arrest occurred despite an order of the Islamabad High Court of 21 January 2026, granting them temporary relief from arrest, reinstating bail, and guaranteeing the right to a complete defence. Immediately after the High Court s 21 January decision, however, Pakistani police invoked a series of previously dormant and backdated FIRs, including terrorism charges case alleging they had assaulted police during a protest an allegation firmly denied by them.

On 24 January 2026, the Sessions Judge of the Islamabad-West Criminal Court sentenced Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to a combined 17 years imprisonment (10 years for cyberterrorism, 5 years for glorifying a crime and 2 years for spreading false and fake information) under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism), and 26-A (false and fake information) of Pakistan s controversial Pakistan s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) a law widely misused to suppress online expression in Pakistan. They were also fined a total of 36 million rupees each. The prosecution alleged that social media posts published between 2021 and 2025 contained anti-state content, incited ethnic hatred, undermined public trust in state institutions, and falsely implicated the armed forces in terrorism and enforced disappearances.

The sentencing followed shortly after the couple s court appearance, which was conducted via video link from Adiala Jail and lasted less than one minute. During the brief appearance, Mazari declared that they would be boycotting the trial, alleging being subjected to torture and citing denial of food and water in detention. They were refused the opportunity to complete cross-examination of prosecution witnesses and had no access to legal counsel while in custody, raising serious concerns about their fair trial rights and physical well-being.

Appeals were filed before the Islamabad High Cour. As of the most recent updates, on May19 mai 2026, IHC Justice Azam Khan has refused to hear the request for an urgent hearing on the suspension of sentences filed by advocates Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, arguing that a certified copy of the Supreme Court s order had not been attached.

Previously, on 15 January 2026, the District and Sessions Court cancelled Mazari and Chattha s bail, curtailed their right to defence, and issued arrest warrants without meeting mandatory procedural requirements. Although the Islamabad High Court temporarily stayed the arrest and granted protective bail on 19 January 2026, the persistence of backdated FIRs and renewed arrest attempts that followed reflect a systematic strategy to intimidate, harass, and silence lawyers who defend victims of state violence and advocate for accountability for human rights violations. The counsel for the couple, asked the court to fix the case for Monday, May 25 2026.