ATC issues contempt notice to Adiala jail superintendent

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) delivered a contempt of court notice to the superintendent of Adiala jail on Saturday, claiming the jail authorities failed to enable the signing and transmission of the necessary powers of attorney for bail petitions of Imaan Zainab Hazir-Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha. On Tuesday, the court dismissed bail petitions filed by human rights lawyers Imaan and Hadi in the Kohsar police station protest case.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra instructed the jail superintendent to provide a reason for the non-compliance with the court's directives. No representative from Adiala jail showed up in court, nor could the two accused be presented via video link, despite prior arrangements. Dr. Shireen Mazari, Imaan's mother, and numerous lawyers attended the proceedings.

Judge Sipra expressed his frustration over the jail authorities' inability to obtain the signatures of Imaan and Hadi on the powers of attorney, which are crucial for lawyers to represent them during the bail proceedings. He questioned whether the deputy superintendent had collected the documents from the relevant session court on the specified day.

The lawyers submitted the powers of attorneys to the sessions court, but their serial numbers were not produced in court. The jail's connectivity issues, a recurring excuse, were mentioned, but Judge Sipra was unimpressed, recalling that he had ordered experts from PTCL and NTC to resolve the connectivity problem, particularly instructing them to send experts from Haripur.

The ATC postponed the next hearing to Tuesday, after issuing the contempt notice. On January 24, an Islamabad sessions court had sentenced Imaan and Hadi to 17 years in jail for various offenses under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). However, the Supreme Court suspended their sentences on September 17, granting them bail on Rs200,000 surety bonds and releasing them pending a final verdict from the High Court.

Shortly after their release, police officers, led by the SSP Operations, arrested the couple again at Adiala jail in connection with the Kohsar police station protest case. Despite being granted bail by the High Court, the ATC denied their request for a 30-day physical remand and sent them to jail on judicial remand.