UN Rights Expert Urges Pakistan to Overturn Life Sentences of Baloch Activist Mahrang Baloch

Quetta, Pakistan — A United Nations Special Rapporteur has called on Pakistan's judiciary to overturn the life sentences handed to Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shah Ji, citing serious due-process violations. Andrea Bolanos Vargas, the UN's expert on human rights defenders, said the verdict, issued by an Anti-Terrorism Court in Quetta on Monday, involved denial of fair trial, misuse of antiterrorism laws and criminalization of peaceful assembly.

The ruling also sentenced Balach Qadir and Abu Bakr Kalanchi to life in prison. Separately, Baloch American Congress President Tara Chand wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump, urging him to raise the case, as rights groups condemned the verdict as a miscarriage of justice.

UN Expert Cites Multiple Legal Violations in Trial

Andrea Bolanos Vargas, who serves as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said she held "grave concern" over the life sentences imposed on Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shah Ji.

In a statement posted on X, Vargas identified several specific concerns with how the case was handled by Pakistani authorities. She said the trial, held in Quetta, was conducted in secrecy and fell short of international fair-trial standards.

Violations Identified by the Special Rapporteur

Vargas outlined the following alleged irregularities in the proceedings:

• Denial of fair trial and due process rights

• Misuse of antiterrorism legislation against the defendants

• Criminalization of peaceful assembly and political activity

• Double punishment imposed for the same alleged offense

She directly appealed to Pakistan's higher judiciary, urging it to "overturn manifestly unjust convictions," according to her statement.

Anti-Terrorism Court Handed Down Sentences Monday

The case stems from a ruling issued Monday by a Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Court, which sentenced four activists to life imprisonment in connection with the killing of a Frontier Corps official, according to local media reports.

Those sentenced included Mahrang Baloch, a prominent Baloch rights campaigner, along with Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) Chairman Balach Qadir, BSO central leader Abu Bakr Kalanchi, and BYC leader Sibghatullah Shahji.

Mahrang Baloch has been in custody for more than a year and has been widely recognized for her campaigning on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan province.

Baloch American Congress Appeals to U.S. President

A day before the UN statement, Tara Chand, president of the Baloch American Congress, sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump expressing concern over the life sentence handed to Mahrang Baloch.

In the letter, Chand said the conviction "undermines due process and the rights of peaceful political activists." He described Mahrang Baloch as someone who has "dedicated her life to peacefully raising awareness" about disappearances and rights abuses in the region.

Broader Concerns Over Conditions in Balochistan

Chand's letter also pointed to wider conditions in Balochistan, a resource-rich but underdeveloped province in southwestern Pakistan.

He wrote that residents continue to face poverty and political repression despite the region's natural resource wealth, and that families searching for missing relatives often encounter intimidation when they speak out.

Human Rights Groups Condemn the Verdict

Several international human rights organizations also criticized the court's decision following Monday's sentencing.

Groups described the ruling as an "affront to fair trial" and called it a "blatant miscarriage of justice," though specific organizations were not named in available statements.

The case has drawn international attention to the treatment of political activists and rights defenders operating in Balochistan, a province that has seen a long-running separatist insurgency alongside a vocal civil rights movement.

As of Friday, Pakistani authorities had not issued a public response to the UN Special Rapporteur's statement or the appeal sent to President Trump.

[Source: ap7am]