QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Two leaders of a Baloch human rights group were sentenced to life in prison on Monday by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan over the death of a paramilitary soldier during a rally in 2024.Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shah, leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), which is accused by authorities of having links to an outlawed militant group, were sentenced after previously been indicted on terrorism, sedition, and murder charges linked to the killing of Shabbir Baloch during a BYC-led protest in the port city of Gwadar, in Balochistan. The prosecution said the two activists had incited a mob that subsequently attacked a security vehicle, seized the soldier and beat him to death with sticks and bricks. A police investigation found the pair had played a direct role in mobilizing the crowd which had protested without obtaining permission from the district administration. The soldier’s death attracted nationwide condemnation.
Mahrang and Shah denied the charges.“The prosecution had undeniable evidence,” Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the provincial government in Baluchistan, said told The Associated Press.
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He said the case was not about political activism or dissent. “This was not a case concerning political opinion, peaceful dissent or the right to protest. It concerned the murder of a soldier,” he said.Mahrang and Shah have the right to appeal the verdict, Rind added.
