ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to a cumulative 17 years in prison over social media posts, ruling that their online activity crossed the lawful limits of dissent and amounted to an “anti-state narrative” under the country’s cybercrime law.

The ruling follows the couple’s arrest a day earlier while they were on their way to a court appearance, after which they were remanded to two weeks in judicial custody. Authorities had accused Mazari-Hazir and Chattha of violating the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over posts on X that they said incited ethnic divisions and portrayed the military as being involved in “terrorism,” allegations both have consistently denied.

In a written verdict, Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka said the prosecution had proved its case against both defendants under Sections 9, 10 and 26-A of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), while acquitting them of a separate hate-speech charge.

“The accused persons crossed the permissible boundaries under the law by their tweets, re-tweets and posts; thus, has committed the offense under section 9/10/26-A of PECA,” the court order said.

The court imposed five years’ rigorous imprisonment each under Section 9, 10 years under Section 10, and two years under Section 26-A, to be served cumulatively, alongside fines totaling Rs 36 million ($129,000) per person.

Benefit of time already spent in custody under Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code was granted, the order said.

The court order also mentioned the social media posts, with the judge saying they included characterizations of Pakistan as a “terrorist state,” claims that detentions under the anti-terror law were illegal, praise for proscribed groups or individuals and allegations of judicial bias.

Such narratives, the order said, can erode “public confidence in core state institutions,” and courts distinguish protected dissent from anti-state speech by examining “intent, content, context, and foreseeable impact.”

While emphasizing that robust criticism was a feature of democracy, the court held that restrictions were justified when expression “crosses the permissible boundary of dissent and enters the domain of subversion, destabilization, or incitement against the State itself.”

Earlier on Saturday, Mazari-Hazir and Chattha appeared briefly via video link before boycotting the proceedings, alleging mistreatment in custody, according to local media reports.

The couple face multiple cases linked to protests and online speech, which rights groups and bar associations have criticized as part of a broader crackdown on critics, a claim the government denies.

“As you sow, so shall you reap,” Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s information minister, said in a post on X after the verdict, describing it as “the first official and final outcome under PECA.”

“One should fear God,” he added.