Amnesty International has strongly criticized the life sentences handed to Baloch activists Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shah Ji, describing the ruling as “an affront to the right to a fair trial” and demanding their immediate release. On June 22, an anti-terrorism court in Quetta sentenced the two members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) to life imprisonment. Isabelle Lassee, Acting Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said the decision reflects a concerning misuse of Pakistan’s counterterrorism laws to suppress peaceful dissent. Amnesty International further stated that the trial was conducted secretly inside a prison, without the presentation of any direct evidence linking the activists to violence or the killing of a security officer. The organization emphasized that the two were targeted solely for their human rights activities and urged their immediate and unconditional release.
