The writer is a human rights lawyer based in Islamabad, Pakistan. She was arrested while pregnant on January 23, 2026 alongside her husband and fellow human rights lawyer, Hadi Ali Chatta. They were handed down a 17 year sentence for a handful of tweets. She tweets at @ImaanZHazir.
She has recently won the WEXFO Young Inspiration Award 2025 for her fearless fight for justice and free expression in Pakistan.
Awarded in Norway by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa, Imaan was praised for her courage, integrity, and impact in defending the rule of law and the rights of the marginalized.
Imaan’s mother, Shireen Mazari recently shared a public letter decrying the injustice and the appalling conditions at the prison her daughter is being held in: “I am a very worried mother and this is a statement of concern about medical facilities at Adiala Jail, from the family of Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chatta.”
The Free Imaan Mazari campaign was organised by her friends and colleagues in over 40 countries, in solidarity with Imran as a defender of rule of law, and the rights of those most vulnerable, among them victims of enforced disappearances, alleged extrajudicial killings, and those prosecuted under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
We will continue to advocate for her release until she is free.
