Ireland-Based Front Line Defenders Denounce Sedition Charges Against Baloch Activists
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The Ireland-based human rights organization Front Line Defenders has strongly condemned the filing of sedition charges against Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a renowned Baloch woman human rights defender, by Pakistani authorities. The charges stem from a press conference held in Quetta last month, which was disrupted by local police.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a leading figure in the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), has been a vocal advocate against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, a region plagued by violence and abuses by state forces and armed groups. The charges are seen as a reaction to her and fellow activists’ human rights advocacy work.
The press conference, which took place at the Quetta Press Club on May 18, was interrupted by police action, but members of the BYC proceeded with the event, highlighting ongoing human rights violations in Gwadar and other areas of Balochistan.
Front Line Defenders criticized the Pakistani state’s pattern of framing human rights defenders as anti-state actors and employing legal and extralegal measures to suppress their activism. The organization demanded the immediate withdrawal of all charges against Dr. Baloch and called for an environment where human rights work can be conducted safely and with dignity.
Earlier, PEN Norway had referred to Dr. Mahrang Baloch as a courageous advocate for justice and basic human rights in Balochistan. The secretary general of PEN Norway expressed concern and condemnation, noting that while the Baloch activists have faced repeated intimidation and threats to remain silent in Balochistan, the fact that they are now being threatened in Norway is alarming and condemnable.
