Pakistan: Authorities must immediately release Baloch activists handed life sentences following secret trial

Reacting to the life sentences given by Quetta’s Anti-Terrorism court to Baloch activists Mahrang Baloch and Sibghat Ullah Shah Jee on 22 June over their involvement in a 2024 protest during which a security officer was killed, Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Acting Regional Director for South Asia, said:

“This verdict, which is an affront to the right to a fair trial, demonstrates how Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws are being cynically misused to silence peaceful dissent. The conviction and sentence followed an expedited secret trial conducted on jail premises, during which serious concerns were raised over international fair trial standards and due process. No direct evidence was presented linking Mahrang and Shah Jee to the alleged violence.

“It also comes after a prolonged period of unlawful detention. Mahrang was arrested in March 2025 following a peaceful sit-in and later charged with over two dozen anti-terrorism cases filed across Pakistan. These cases were so high in number that it was difficult for her lawyers to even keep track, let alone provide meaningful legal representation.

No direct evidence was presented linking Mahrang and Shah Jee to the alleged violence

Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Acting Regional Director for South Asia

“Mahrang and Shah Jee are being targeted solely for their human rights work. They should be immediately released, with all charges related to their activism dropped.”

Background

Mahrang Baloch and Sibghat Ullah Shah Jee are members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a peaceful civil rights movement in Pakistan advocating for an end to enforced disappearances, extrajudicial murder and economic injustice in Balochistan province. They have been under unlawful detention since protests erupted in March 2025, along with four other Baloch activists, in connection with various charges related to their activism.

On 22 June, Mahrang and Shah Jee were convicted and sentenced under section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code and section and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 for the alleged killing of a law enforcement officer from the Frontier Corps (FC) during the Baloch Raji Machi (Baloch National Gathering) in July 2024. Mahrang and Shah Jee boycotted the trial proceedings due to the persistent denial of their right to a fair trial and the alleged bias of the judge. A state-appointed defence counsel represented them in the later stages of the trial, who did not consult with them. In the later stages of the trial, Mahrang and Shah Jee were only given the option to join via video link.

The judgement implicates Mahrang for participating in the assembly and allegedly delivering an inciting speech and referring to state officials as “occupiers”, without demonstrating whether mere speech meets the threshold for a murder or terrorism offence. Shah Jee was implicated for being part of a crowd that charged at the FC officer. At least three Baloch protesters were killed during the protests, with no one yet charged for the killings.