Human rights defenders Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji sentenced to life imprisonment by Anti-Terrorism Court
On 22 June 2026, the Anti-Terrorism Court in Balochistan, Pakistan sentenced human rights defenders Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji to life imprisonment. The case is linked to the killing of a security officer in 2024. The human rights defenders are accused of inciting a mob through their ‘provocative speech’ at a protest in July 2024, resulting in the death of the security officer. The human rights defenders have been in detention since March 2025 on multiple cases, including under the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA). The trial took place in Hudda Jail and raises serious concerns regarding due process guarantees and criminalisation of human rights work.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch is a woman human rights defender based in Balochistan, and a leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) campaigning against unlawful enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings by the Pakistani authorities in the Balochistan Province. Balochistan is a region that has experienced decades of violence, and systemic abuses by Pakistan authorities. This includes the military, intelligence agencies and armed groups that continue to target local commmunities and human rights defenders who seek to document and advocate against the violations. In November 2023, Dr. Mahrang Baloch was a key figure in the Baloch Long March, organized in response to the extra judicial killing of a Baloch youth in Turbut, Balochistan and which galvanized into a peaceful march calling for an end to the atrocities including enforced diappearances and killings. Authorities responded with violence and reprisals against peaceful protesters including Dr. Mahrang Baloch.
On 22 June 2026, the Anti-Terrorism Court in Balochistan, Pakistan sentenced human rights defenders Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji to life imprisonment. The case is linked to the killing of a security officer in 2024. The human rights defenders are accused of inciting a mob through their ‘provocative speech’ at a protest in July 2024, resulting in the death of the security officer. The human rights defenders have been in detention since March 2025 on multiple cases, including under the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA). The trial took place in Hudda Jail and raises serious concerns regarding due process guarantees and criminalisation of human rights work.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch is a woman human rights defender and vocal campaigner for the rights of the Baloch community in Pakistan and has spoken out consistently against ongoing violations by the Pakistan police, military and intelligence agencies. She is a leading figure in the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a network documenting and advocating on human rights in Balochistan. In November 2023, Dr. Mahrang Baloch led the Baloch Long March against extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances. In July 2024 she was part of the Baloch National Gathering in Gwadar Balochistan which was brutally suppressed by security forces and police. The woman human rights defender has faced numerous threats to her safety and has been targeted with false criminal cases, travel bans and measures under the anti-terror law, including being placed under Schedule 4 ATA as punishment for her work.
Sibghatullah Abdul Haq (Shahji) is a human rights defender and active member of the BYC campaigning peacefully against human rights violations including enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings. He was part of the peaceful protests and campaigns for rights including the Baloch Long March in 2023 and the Baloch National Gathering in 2024. In March 2025 the human rights defender was arrested on multiple charges as part of a wave of arrests against Baloch human rights defenders and BYC members. He has been imprisoned ever since and placed under Schedule 4 of the ATA. On 22 June 2026, the day of his conviction, his name was subsequently removed from Schedule 4.
Schedule 4 of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act is a legal watch list containing the names of individuals suspected of terrorism, sectarianism, or having ties to proscribed organisations. It is a procedure ultimately lacking judicial oversight, under which listed individuals are denied their basic rights.
On 22 June 2026, the Anti-Terrorism Court in Balochistan, convicted human right defenders Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji of terrorism, sedition, and murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The trial, which was held in Hudda Jail, concerned the killing of a security officer in 2024. The human rights defenders are accused of inciting a mob through their ‘provocative speech’ at a protest in July 2024, resulting in the death of the security officer. The human rights defenders have consistently denied these charges. The Baloch National Gathering in July 2024 was marked by the excessive use of force by security forces, including firing at protesters, mass arrests, physical assaults and internet blackouts. The current case is a blatant breach of the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and criminalises human rights work.
The human rights defenders have been jailed for over a year since March 2025. Mahrang Baloch was arrested on 23 March 2025 and Sibghatullah (Shahji) on 30 March 2025, as part of a broader wave of arrests, raids, and reprisals against Baloch human rights defenders, and especially members of the BYC. The human rights defenders have been labeled as anti-state, and falsely accused of supporting militancy. The allegations disregard their contribution to peaceful negotiation, and non-violent advocacy for human rights. Their current persecution is the result of their outspoken and peaceful campaigns against state violence, repression, enforced disappearances and killings. Several prominent members of the BYC were arrested since March 2025, and some continue to be held in detention. Others were subjected to collective punishment, including the enforced disappearance, imprisonment or threats against family members. A large number of BYC members have been listed under Schedule 4 of the ATA.
The Anti-Terrorism Court’s decision, on 22 June 2026, is part of a wider pattern of persecution and pressure to silence the work and advocacy of Baloch human right defenders. Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the persecution of Baloch human rights defenders especially Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji as reprisal for their legitimate human rights work.
Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities of Pakistan to:
- Immediately release Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji and annul their convictions which are solely a result of their human rights work and criminalisation of their freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly;
- Cease the persecution of Baloch human rights defenders, release those currently jailed and end the practice of collective punishment by targeting family members;
- Ensure that security forces and courts stop weaponising the Anti-Terrorism Act and the counter terror frameworks solely to target human rights defenders;
- Cease the application of Schedule 4 of the Anti-Terror Act to punish human rights defenders and immediately remove those already listed from the Schedule;
- R ecognise the value of human rights defenders’ work and guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Pakistan are able to carry out their legitimate activities without fear of reprisals and free from restrictions.
