Detained leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) continued their sit-in inside Huda Jail in Quetta for the sixth consecutive day on Thursday against what the organisation describes as a “non-transparent” and “faceless” trial.
Several BYC leaders, including its chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Gulzadi, Bebarg Zehri and Sibghatullah Shahji, have been incarcerated since March 2025 and are protesting against the trial process.
According to the BYC, the detained leaders began the sit-in after rejecting the decision to conduct proceedings through what it called a “faceless court,” arguing that an open-court trial is a basic legal and constitutional right.
In a video statement posted on X, Dr Mahrang Baloch’s sister said the sit-in began after the trial proceedings were shifted to a faceless format, alleging that the Prosecutor General of Balochistan had appeared during a hearing, pressured the judge and said he had been sent by the Home Department.
She said the judge later converted the proceedings into faceless trials with day-to-day hearings.
“In these faceless trials, the judge, prosecutor, witnesses, BYC leaders and their lawyers will all be in different rooms, connected only through a screen,” she said.
She said families and lawyers did not know who the witnesses were or from where they were giving testimony, adding that even applications were not being accepted in the process.
“My sister and other BYC leaders are not even getting a chance for a fair trial,” she said. “We will fight till the end, and the state must be clear that we will not back off.”
She said families and lawyers were not being allowed to meet the detained leaders, warning that if access was not granted, they would stage a protest or sit-in.
The BYC said the sit-in inside Huda Jail had also been accompanied by a three-day online campaign, in which political workers, students, lawyers, human rights activists and people from other walks of life took part.
The organisation said the campaign was aimed at highlighting what it described as the denial of open-court proceedings, legal access and family meetings for the detained leaders.
The BYC demanded that the “faceless trial” process be ended and open-court proceedings ensured, saying the current process deprived the accused of the right to defend themselves and removed judicial proceedings from public oversight.
“This is not only contrary to the requirements of justice, but an attempt to further restrict the legal and constitutional rights of the detained leaders,” the organisation said.
It appealed to human rights activists, lawyers, journalists and citizens to raise their voices over the issue.