Baloch activists Dr Mahrang Baloch get life sentences; Amnesty cries foul

Amnesty International condemns life sentences for Baloch activists Mahrang Baloch and Sibghat Ullah Shah Jee, citing an unfair secret trial and Pakistan's misuse of anti-terrorism laws to suppress peaceful human rights advocacy in Balochistan.

Amnesty International has strongly condemned the life imprisonment sentences handed down to prominent Baloch activists Dr Mahrang Baloch and Sibghat Ullah Shah Jee, describing the verdict as a violation of fair trial standards and evidence of Pakistan's alleged misuse of anti-terrorism laws to suppress peaceful dissent.

In a press release, Amnesty International's Acting Regional Director for South Asia, Isabelle Lassee, stated that the convictions represented "an affront to the right to a fair trial" and accused authorities of cynically employing anti-terrorism legislation against human rights defenders.

Secret Trial Lacked Due Process

The criticism follows a ruling by an anti-terrorism court in Quetta that sentenced Mahrang Baloch and Sibghat Ullah Shah Jee to life imprisonment over their alleged involvement in a 2024 protest during which a security official was killed. According to Amnesty International, the convictions stemmed from what it described as an expedited and secret trial conducted inside a jail facility.

Amnesty said serious concerns had been raised regarding due process and compliance with international fair trial standards, while no direct evidence was presented linking either activist to the killing. Lassee also highlighted what Amnesty called a prolonged period of unlawful detention.

Legal Hurdles and Multiple Cases

Mahrang Baloch was arrested in March 2025 after participating in a peaceful sit-in and subsequently faced more than two dozen anti-terrorism cases registered across Pakistan. Amnesty argued that the large number of cases made it difficult for her legal team to effectively defend her.

Call for Immediate Release

Amnesty International maintained that both activists were being targeted because of their human rights advocacy and demanded their immediate release, along with the withdrawal of all charges connected to their activism.

Mahrang Baloch and Sibghat Ullah Shah Jee are leading members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a civil rights movement that campaigns against enforced disappearances, alleged extrajudicial killings and economic marginalisation in Balochistan. They have remained in detention since protests erupted in March 2025, alongside several other Baloch activists facing multiple cases linked to their activism. (ANI)

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