Mahrang Baloch

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30 October – the International Day of Political Prisoners – some actions

November 2, 2026

On Oct. 30, the Human Rights Foundation observed the International Day of Political Prisoners, honoring the estimated 1 million political prisoners globally. These detainees are targeted not for committing any crime, but for their work as journalists, opposition leaders, lawyers, artists, and human rights defenders — or for simply expressing their beliefs. Too often, their stories are distilled to mere statistics. But these individuals are not just numbers. They have families, friends, jobs, and full lives that have been ripped away from them.

HRF highlighted the experiences of six political prisoners in their own words, through letters and other communications they have bravely shared with the world.

Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov

Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov is a Karakalpak lawyer, journalist, and human rights defender in Uzbekistan. He was detained in July 2022 for protesting constitutional amendments that would have stripped Karakalpakstan of its status as a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan. He was initially sentenced to 16 years; Uzbekistan has since extended his imprisonment to nearly 18 years. He is held in a remote, high-security penal colony, and there are reports of torture and ill-treatment. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) determined that his detention is arbitrary following a submission by HRF in July 2024.

Dr. Mahrang Baloch is a Baloch human rights defender and founder of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a network of activists promoting human rights in Balochistan. She was arrested at a peaceful protest in March 2025 and detained for three months without trial. In July 2025, the day her detention was set for review, Pakistan instead brought terrorism charges against her. Nearly a year later and after a trial riddled with due process violations, she was sentenced to two terms of life in prison. HRF submitted her case to the WGAD in August.

Victoire Ingabire

Victoire Ingabire is a leading Rwandan opposition figure, advocate for democratic reform, and founder of the political party Development and Liberty for All. She was first arrested in 2010 when she returned from exile to run for president and was imprisoned until 2018, when she received a presidential pardon. On June 19, 2025, she was arrested again after testifying in a trial involving eight of her party members and an independent journalist. She remains in detention, and now faces a trial in which the prosecution seeks a life sentence. The WGAD determined that her detention is arbitrary following a submission by HRF in November 2025.

Umar Khalid

Umar Khalid is an Indian activist and former researcher at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he was a leader of the Democratic Students’ Union. Khalid was arrested on Sept. 13, 2020, after becoming a prominent figure in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which excluded Muslims from eligibility for fast-tracked Indian citizenship. Khalid has been detained for more than six years without trial, solely for exercising the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The WGAD found Khalid’s detention to be arbitrary following HRF’s March 2025 petition.

Ulviyya Ali

Ulviyya Ali is an Azerbaijani journalist who spent years reporting for Voice of America (VOA) on human rights abuses by Azerbaijani officials. In a country ranked among the top 10 most repressive regimes for press freedom, her work has played a vital role in preserving independent journalism. Two months after President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order that effectively shuttered VOA, police in Baku arrested Ali on fabricated currency smuggling charges. She remains imprisoned, awaiting sentencing in harsh conditions. She faced police violence and threats of sexual assault on the day of her arrest, has been denied essential medical care, and has been subjected to further retaliation for refusing to remain silent — including being placed in a cell with a person accused of manslaughter. HRF submitted her case to a group of UN special procedures in May 2026.

Dispatches from Detention: Vadim Kobzev & Alexei Liptser

Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser

Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser were members of the legal team for Alexei Navalny, the late Russian opposition leader. Both attorneys challenged Navalny’s prosecution amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia. In October 2023, they were arrested on politically motivated charges of “extremism” related to their work with Navalny. They were convicted and sentenced to multi-year prison terms in penal colonies, in a case that has become emblematic of Russia’s mounting pressure on independent lawyers and the rule of law. HRF submitted Kobzev and Liptser’s case to the WGAD in January 2026.

Dispatches from Detention

Hong Kong Watch marks International Day of Political Prisoners in joint statement from coalition of over 50 human rights groups

https://www.hongkongwatch.org/all-posts/2026/10/30/hong-kong-watch-marks-international-day-of-political-prisoners-in-joint-statement-from-coalition-of-over-50-human-rights-groups

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/russia-statement-spokesperson-day-remembrance-victims-political-repression_en

https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/news/417371/un-leaders-call-for-action-to-protect-women-journalists-covering-conflict?amp=1

https://www.democracywithoutborders.org/45892/freedom-for-political-prisoners-should-be-a-global-priority-appeal-says

https://achpr.au.int/en/news/press-releases/2026-11-02/international-day-end-impunity-crimes-against-journalists-02

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/11/impunity-crimes-against-journalists-fuels-further-violence-and

Statement on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists

Posted in Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), Azerbaijian, books, Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, Democracy without Borders, EU, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation, India, International Day of Political Prisoners, Mahrang Baloch, OHCHR, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Ulviyya Ali, Umar Khalid, Uzbekistan, Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser, Victoire Ingabire, woman human rights defender

Repressive Laws Are Increasingly Being Used to Silence Activists Across Asia

July 29, 2025

Josef Benedict and Rajavelu Karunanithi published a piece in the Diplomat of 18 July 2025 describing how from Hong Kong to India, governments are passing and weaponizing new laws to pursue and jail whoever speaks up for human rights.

Four years ago, on the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, plain clothes police arrested human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung outside her office in Hong Kong. Her alleged crime? Publishing two social media posts advertising a public vigil to remember the notorious crackdown in Tiananmen Square. At the time, Chow was the vice-chair of the now defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement of China, the main organizer of annual Tiananmen vigils…

Sadly, such repression is not unique to Hong Kong. Across Asia, authoritarian and democratic governments alike are passing and weaponizing new laws – in clear violation of international law and standards – to pursue and jail whoever speaks up for human rights. Today, on Nelson Mandela International Day, we call for the release of Chow Hang-tang, who is part of CIVICUS’ Stand As My Witness campaign, as well as other human rights defenders unjustly locked up in Asia around the world.

The CIVICUS Monitor, which tracks civic space conditions across the world, now rates Hong Kong’s civic space as “closed,” the worst possible ranking. Hundreds remain behind bars as police systematically use the new laws to arrest and prosecute people on trumped-up charges. Often, the process itself becomes the punishment as activists spend years in detention before they are even tried…

Meanwhile, Hong Kong authorities are trying to take their repression international, by offering bounties for activists-in-exile charged under the National Security Law and by arresting the father of a prominent U.S.-based activist, Anna Kwok.

..Hong Kong’s National Security Laws have become something of a model for other Asian governments looking to stifle dissent.

Look no further than India, often called the world’s largest democracy, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government resorts to similar laws to consolidate power and silence his critics. Dozens of activists have been jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a draconian anti-terror law. Under the UAPA’s provisions, activists remain in pre-trial detention for long periods and are denied bail, including human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested in November 2021. His trial has yet to start, four years on. [see also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/81468931-79AA-24FF-58F7-10351638AFE3]

In neighboring Pakistan, the government also weaponizes anti-terror legislation against activists like Mahrang Baloch, who languishes in prison on terror charges for speaking out against ongoing violations of ethnic minority rights by the Pakistan security forces in Balochistan. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/05/28/un-experts-alarmed-by-arbitrary-detention-of-azerbaijani-human-rights-defender-mammadli/]

In Thailand, more than 270 individuals have been arrested or prosecuted under lese-majeste or royal defamation laws since early 2020, many of whom have received long consecutive sentences from the courts. Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, for instance, received multiple convictions and 26 years in jail for calling for democratic reforms and reforms of the Thai monarchy. [see also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/1e7ce01b-7927-41f1-b7d4-2c563ee235cc]

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Han Manet regime has used “incitement” laws as their weapon of choice to silence activists, journalists, and members of the opposition.

With legal repression spreading across Asia, the international community must do more to push back and stand with these brave activists. Foreign governments must not only speak out when activists are convicted, but step in much earlier when these human rights defenders are arrested. Diplomats should visit wrongly arrested activists in detention, monitor their trials, and engage with their families. Foreign governments must also use international platforms like the United Nations Human Rights Council and bilateral meetings to highlight their cases and call for their release.

Activists-in-exile also need support and assistance, especially when they face transnational repression. The recent G-7 Leaders’ Statement on Transnational Repression was a good start, but strong rhetoric must now turn into serious action. Failure to undertake such actions will see a further regression of democracy and repression of civic freedoms in Asia and elsewhere.

https://thediplomat.com/2025/07/repressive-laws-are-increasingly-being-used-to-silence-activists-across-asia/

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Arnon Nampa, Asia, Chow Hang-tang, Democracy, history, Hong Kong, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, India, Josef Benedict, Khurram Parvez, Mahrang Baloch, news, Pakistan, politics, Rajavelu Karunanithi, The Diplomat, transnational represion

NGOs address Pakistan on Afghan journalists and Baloch human rights defenders

May 30, 2025

On 29 May the Committee to Protect Journalists and fourteen other organisations have urged Pakistan to immediately halt deportation of Afghan journalists and other vulnerable Afghan migrants. The fifteen advocacy groups expressed deep concern over Pakistan’s ongoing deportation plan, first announced on 3 October 2023, which targets undocumented Afghan nationals. The joint statement highlights the heightened risks faced by Afghan journalists, writers, artists, human rights defenders, and others who fled Taliban persecution and are now at risk of being forcibly returned.

Among the signatories are prominent international organisations such as PEN Germany, CPJ, Unlimited Free Press, Front Line Defenders, International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN), Nai – Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The organisations also called on the international community to provide safe resettlement opportunities for these individuals, recognising the dangers they face if returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Pakistan’s deportation policy has faced sharp criticism from local and international bodies, including the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). These entities have urged Pakistan to uphold its international obligations and provide protection to those fleeing conflict and persecution.

Despite repeated calls for restraint, the Pakistani government has accelerated forced returns in recent months. In April alone, more than 300,000 Afghans were deported, drawing further condemnation from human rights organisations.

——

On 28 May Amnesty International along with four other human rights organizations wrote to the Pakistani prime minister, calling for an end to the “harassment and arbitrary detention” of Baloch human rights defenders (HRDs) exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, particularly in Balochistan province.

The letter comes in the wake of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, one of the leading campaigners for the Baloch minority and the leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), and a number of other activists, being arrested in March on charges of terrorism, sedition and murder. ..

The five organizations — Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Front Line Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture — appeal to Pakistan’s Prime Minister to release Baloch human rights defenders and end the crackdown on dissent in line with Pakistan’s international human rights obligations;

A dozen UN experts called on Pakistan in March to immediately release Baloch rights defenders, including Dr. Baloch, and to end the repression of their peaceful protests. UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders Mary Lawlor said she was “disturbed by reports of further mistreatment in prison.”

Balochistan is the site of a long-running separatist movement, with insurgent groups accusing the state of unfairly exploiting Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources. The federal and provincial governments deny this, saying they are spending billions of rupees on the uplift of the province’s people.

https://www.afintl.com/en/202505291879

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2602563/amp

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/human-rights-defenders-mahrang-baloch-and-sibghatullah-shahji-sentenced-life-imprisonment-anti

https://www.greenleft.org.au/2026/1456/world/leading-baloch-human-rights-defenders-sentenced-life-imprisonment

Posted in Amnesty international, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Afghanistan, Baloch, Committee for Protection of Journalists, deportation, joint letter, journalists, Mahrang Baloch, news, NGOs, Pakistan

Front Line Defenders’ Global Analysis 2024/25

May 13, 2025

Resilience of Human Rights Defenders a Source of Hope Amid Global Rollback on Rights – At least 324 defenders killed in 32 countries for their peaceful work in 2024

On 6 May 2025 Front Line Defenders Global Analysis 2024/25 was published giving a detailed panorama of the violations against HRDs at risk in 105 countries in all regions. Despite an increasingly hostile world with expanded threats to their work, human rights defenders (HRDs) everywhere demonstrated a remarkable level of resilience and determination as they resisted a global rollback on human rights, Front Line Defenders said as it launched its flagship report.

The report also reveals statistics gathered and verified by the HRD Memorial – which Front Line Defenders coordinates – documenting the killings of at least 324 HRDs in 32 countries in 2024. HRDs working on land rights, citizen’s rights and Indigenous peoples’ rights each made up almost a fifth of the total, and the countries with the highest number of killings documented were Colombia (157), Mexico (32), Guatemala (29), Palestine (22) and Brazil (15). (See pp. 6-13 for complete data.)

“Year on year, hundreds of human rights defenders pay the ultimate price when they are killed for their work, having a devastating impact on their families and communities. It is a grim reflection of the immense danger faced by those who work peacefully to defend human rights,” said Alan Glasgow, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders.“Other threats and risks are manifold. Front Line Defenders’ analysis shows that women’s rights defenders globally and HRDs working in situations of conflict were among those most targeted for their work. It is a remarkable sign of these defenders’ courage that they continue their struggle despite such immense danger. They are the best among us, who fervently believe a better world is worth fighting for.”

Arbitrary arrest/detention was the most commonly reported violation against HRDs around the world, followed by threats/other harassment, legal action, death threats and surveillance. Women HRDs reported slightly higher levels of threats/other harassment compared to their male counterparts, while trans and non gender-conforming HRDs reported this as the most common violation they faced overall.

Criminalisation of HRDs remained rife with 107 charges filed in 75 cases. The most commonly cited charges were linked to defamation (23.4%); national security (19.6%); other criminal charges (12.1%); public order offences (11.2%); and terrorism-related charges (11.2%). In every region, governments and non-state actors turned to the judicial system to disrupt, stymie, stigmatise, bankrupt and imprison HRDs, regardless of the human rights they were defending. Counter-terrorism legislation and “Foreign Agent” laws were among those weaponised for use against HRDs.

According to Front Line Defenders data, defenders working on women’s rights were among the most targeted globally in 2024, ranking in the top three for all regions except one. This trend played out in numerous ways, with women human rights defenders (WHRDs) subjected to smear campaigns, criminalisation, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as targeted with threats – including threats of sexual and gender-based violence.

WHRDs played key roles in protest movements seeking more just societies – for example in Bangladesh – faced stark discrimination in countries like Afghanistan and Iran, and shouldered heavy burdens in conflict and crisis situations, ranging from Gaza to Colombia, DRC, Myanmar, Sudan and Ukraine.

Dr. Mahrang Baloch, an outspoken WHRD from Pakistan’s Balochistan region, faced ongoing risks throughout the year, including travel bans, smear campaigns and arbitrary detention. At the time of publication she remains jailed in Quetta after being arbitrarily arrested for leading a peaceful protest. In a foreword provided to Front Line Defenders, she described why HRDs persist in their struggle:

“We must continue to resist. Because human rights defenders are the ones standing on the frontlines, risking everything so that others may find their missing loved ones, so that everyone can go to school, so that the silenced can speak, so that women raped in refugee camps can find justice, so that those fighting alone in their homes, their villages, their cities can know they are not alone. We must stand with them, and we must stand together. Not for a nation. Not for a religion. Not for a race. But for humanity. Because if we do not, who will?”

For last year’s, CF: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/05/22/front-line-defenders-launches-global-analysis-2023-24-on-human-rights-defenders/

For more information or to receive a full copy of the report, please contact:

Conor Fortune
Frontline Defenders
+353 85 802 0895
cfortune@frontlinedefenders.org

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/resource-publication/global-analysis-202425

https://www.wric.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/808917521/remarkable-resilience-of-human-rights-defenders-a-source-of-hope-amid-global-rollback-on-rights/

Posted in books, Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: annual report 2024, arbitrary arrest, criminalisation, Front Line (NGO), Front Line Defenders Global Analysis, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Mahrang Baloch, news, women human rights defenders

Prominent Baluch human rights defender stopped from attending TIME event in US and then assaulted

October 22, 2024

Front Line Defenders call for the Pakistani authorities to be held accountable for their mistreatment and abuse of prominent Baloch woman human rights defender Dr. Mahrang Baloch and other human rights defenders accompanying her in Karachi, on 8 October 2024. The woman human rights defender was attacked by Sindh police while she was returning from the Karachi’s Jinnah international airport after immigration authorities denied her permission to leave the country.

Dr. Mahrang Baloch is a woman human rights defender and a staunch advocate for the rights of the ethnic Baloch community in Pakistan. She has campaigned peacefully against systemic violations including extra judicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and custodial torture in Balochistan. Human rights defenders speaking out against state violence, especially seeking to hold the military and intelligence agencies accountable, undertake significant risks – against themselves and their families.

On 7 October 2024, Pakistani authorities prevented Dr. Mahrang Baloch from leaving the country. The woman human rights defender was to attend an event in New York organized by TIME which had named her in the TIME100 Next 2024 List recognizing her human rights work. Unfortunately immigration officers at the Karachi airport withheld her passport for several hours and denied her permission to board her flight without any legal basis or reasoning. Dr. Mahrang Baloch finally left the airport at around midnight after she recovered her passport. Shortly after, her vehicle was intercepted by a group of officers from the Sindh police on the old airport road in close proximity to the airport. Police brutally beat and abused Dr. Mahrang Baloch and several other human rights defenders including Sammi Deen Baloch. Police illegally seized Dr. Mahrang’s passport and mobile phone. They also took the vehicle keys, leaving the human rights defenders stranded on a deserted road at late hours in the night.

Reprisals including restrictions on travel are common in Pakistan, especially for those who speak out against state repression. In August 2024, Sammi Deen Baloch, the Front Line Defenders award winner for 2024 was prevented from traveling to Geneva for an advocacy mission to highlight human rights issues in Balochistan. The attack on Dr. Mahrang Baloch is not an isolated incident. It spotlights what many human rights defenders in Pakistan face as punishment for their work. Human rights defenders from oppressed communities such as the Baloch are especially targeted. State response to peaceful campaigns by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (Baloch Solidarity Committee) has been to suppress protests and campaigns with brute force and repressive measures including criminalization.

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/statement-report/pakistan-woman-human-rights-defender-dr-mahrang-baloch-prevented-leaving-pakistan

https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-baloch-baluch-rights-travel-ban/33151431.html

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Human rights defender, Mahrang Baloch, Pakistan, police brutality, Time, travel ban, woman human rights defender

Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards