UN Experts Slam Pakistan Activist's Life Sentence as a ‘Travesty of Justice’

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GENEVA: More than a dozen independent United Nations rights experts have strongly condemned the life sentence given to prominent Pakistani activist Mahrang Baloch, calling it a ‘travesty of justice’.

The 33-year-old founder of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee was sentenced last month by an anti-terrorism court on murder and terror charges. The case stemmed from a 2024 coastal protest that sparked deadly clashes.

The experts stated the trial was unfair and misused counter-terrorism laws to suppress peaceful expression. They noted the court wrongly assumed an intent to kill simply because she participated in the demonstration.

Baloch’s activist group routinely denounces forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in resource-rich Balochistan. Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities deny breaching civil liberties, citing a necessary response to a local insurgency.

The UN experts warned that targeting women human rights defenders heightens gendered threats and heavily shrinks civic space.