Baloch Diaspora Protests in Germany Over Sentencing of Rights Activists by Pakistan
COLOGNE, Germany: Members of the Baloch diaspora gathered outside Cologne Central Station on Saturday, July 11, 2026, to protest the sentencing of Baloch rights activists Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Quetta, Balochistan.
The peaceful demonstration was organised in response to the court’s decision to sentence the two activists to life imprisonment. Protesters carried banners, placards and portraits of the sentenced activists while calling for their immediate release and condemning the broader crackdown on peaceful political activism in Balochistan.
Organisers distributed German-language pamphlets to commuters and members of the public, outlining their concerns over the use of anti-terrorism legislation against members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). They argued that the laws have been used to suppress peaceful dissent and restrict civil liberties.
Several speakers, including Ashfaq Baloch, Banuk Washma Baloch, Bashir Baloch and Mujeeb Abdullah, addressed the gathering, criticising the Pakistani government’s approach toward Baloch political activists. They described the court’s ruling as an attempt to discourage campaigns against enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and the exploitation of natural resources in Balochistan.
During the demonstration, speakers called on the international community to pay closer attention to the situation in Balochistan.
“The right to a fair trial and the freedom of assembly are being completely hollowed out to criminalise peaceful human rights advocacy,” speakers added.
The event was moderated by Naveed Baloch, who urged democratic governments, the European Union, and international human rights organisations to press Pakistani authorities to uphold international human rights standards and ensure due process.
The protest concluded with participants calling for the immediate withdrawal of the sentences imposed on Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sibghatullah Shahji and the release of all detained members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and all other enforced disappeared Baloch.
