The Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court adjourned proceedings after Adiala Jail authorities did not produce the couple in person.
WEB DESK: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Friday directed Adiala Jail authorities to present lawyer and human rights activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, through video link at the next hearing.
ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Supra was hearing a case registered against the couple at the Secretariat Police Station. The court had summoned both accused in person for Friday’s proceedings, but jail authorities did not produce them before the court.
Court fixes hearing for Saturday
Following their non-production, the judge adjourned the proceedings until Saturday and directed Adiala Jail authorities to ensure that both accused appear through video link.
The court specifically ordered that Mazari and Chattha be produced virtually at the next hearing.
Both remain on judicial remand at Adiala Jail in connection with the case.
Couple arrested last week
Mazari and Chattha were arrested last week and sent to Adiala Jail on judicial remand by an ATC, shortly after the Supreme Court suspended their sentences and granted them bail in a separate case.
According to Islamabad police sources cited by Geo News, the case registered against the couple includes allegations relating to an anti-state narrative, incitement and interference in government affairs. These are allegations contained in the case and have not been treated as established facts.
Earlier dispute over bail petitions
The latest hearing follows a separate procedural dispute involving the couple’s bail applications in another case.
On September 22, the Islamabad ATC returned bail petitions filed by Mazari and Chattha in the Kohsar Police Station protest case because signed powers of attorney, or vakalatnamas, had not been submitted. The court also issued notices to Adiala Jail authorities over an application concerning the signing of those documents.
Recent reporting said lawyers had complained that the detained couple had not been facilitated in signing the required documents. Jail authorities subsequently provided information to the court regarding the documents.
Separate case led to Supreme Court relief
The couple had also been sentenced to 17 years in prison each in January in a case concerning social media posts under provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
The Supreme Court later suspended their sentences and granted them bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000 each while proceedings concerning the sentences remained pending before the Islamabad High Court.
Their subsequent arrest was linked to a separate case registered at the Kohsar Police Station,
