Today marks 6 years since leftwing organizer Baba Jan of @AWPGB was sentenced to life in prison under spurious 'terrorism' charges. He is now the longest serving political prisoner in Gilgit-Baltistan & Pakistan. Please join us in calling for his freedom.
#FreeBabaJan

As is obvious, Baba Jan is not a terrorist. He is simply a committed political activist who had the courage to raise his voice for the sake of his people. For this, he along with his comrades, he has been imprisoned & tortured by Pakistani authorities in GB. #FreeBabaJan

On Jan 4 2010, a huge landslide at Attabad, Hunza blocked the Hunza River, killed 20 people & injured dozens. In response, Baba Jan embarked on a countrywide campaign to raise awareness, warning that whole villages would be decimated unless urgent action was taken. #FreeBabaJan

His warnings were not heeded & FWO delayed the opening of the spillway, turning the area into a 22km artificial lake, submerging 4 villages & displacing 1000s. As months passed, hundreds of displaced families failed to receive any promised govt assistance. #FreeBabaJan

Baba Jan organized affected families to demand justice. On 12th August 2011, over 200 families blocked the Karakoram Highway during the CM's visit to Aliabad, in response to which police shot & killed 2 protestors: Afzal Baig and his father, Sherullah Baig. #FreeBabaJan

In anger, the whole valley rose in protest & mobbed govt buildings in Aliabad (though no casualties took place). In retribution, the police registered cases against 100 protestors, including Baba Jan, who was not even present in Aliabad at the time of the protest. #FreeBabaJan

Baba Jan was arrested in 2011 & remained in jail for nearly 2 years, before he was released on bail on June 27, 2013, after a massive national & international campaign. He was rearrested when an anti-terrorist court sentenced him to life imprisonment on 25 Sep 2014. #FreeBabaJan

While in jail, Baba Jan worked on improvement of jail conditions & inter-sect harmony between Shia & Sunni prisoners, who were separated & not allowed to meet. Baba Jan held several meetings with community leaders & convinced them to unite for their rights. #FreeBabaJan

As a ‘reward’ for pushing for inter-sect harmony, Baba Jan & 4 of his comrades were separated from other prisoners & tortured, including beatings with sticks, crushing his feet under heavy boots for days in a row and denial of medical treatment despite court orders. #FreeBabaJan

In the meantime, the judicial inquiry ordered by the CM Gilgit-Baltistan into the killing of the two Aliabad protestors remains unpublished to date while the police officer responsible for the killing of the protestors was promoted to the rank of Superintendent. #FreeBabaJan

In May 2015, Baba Jan announced to contest elections from behind bars for the GB Legislative Assembly in Hunza from @AWPGB's platform. In the coming weeks, historic scenes were witnessed in Hunza, with 1000s of supporters spilling out into the streets w/ red flags #FreeBabaJan

Despite being imprisoned, w/ only small grassroots donations & facing widespread use of administrative muscle & pre-poll rigging tactics by the state & ruling party candidate (Ghazanfar Ali, Mir of Hunza), Baba Jan stood a close 2nd, defeating most mainstream parties
#FreeBabaJan

In April 2016, by-elections for the same seat were announced after Ghazanfar Ali became GB Governor. Once again, Baba Jan stood for election from AWP & another popular campaign was launched. However, this time the state refused to allow him to contest. #FreeBabaJan

Baba Jan has become a symbol of resistance in GB. His imprisonment is a symptom of the authoritarian colonial mechanisms of control in the region. He was convicted by controlled local courts & cannot even appeal his conviction in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. #FreeBabaJan

For years, Baba Jan's appeal against his sentence has been pending in the Supreme Appelate Court of GB. However, it cannot be heard, since there haven't been judges appointed to the bench for over 2 years (!), making a mockery of a functional judicial system. #FreeBabaJan

Over the years, multiple offers have been made to Baba Jan to renounce his political work & promise to remain quiet about the numerous land grabs & multi-million $ projects underway in GB. He has refused to compromise which is why he remains behind bars. #FreeBabaJan

Baba Jan's continued imprisonment is a stain on Pakistan's collective conscience. A selfless activist who spent years in non-violent struggle for the rights of his people has spent most of his youth imprisoned for fictious 'terror' charges. Enough is enough. #FreeBabaJan

As the media discusses new state attempts to change the constitutional status of GB, we must address also the question of the will of its people & that of prisoners of conscience like Baba Jan & others imprisoned for demanding justice & rights for the people of GB. #FreeBabaJan

We call upon the Gilgit-Baltistan authorities to ensure the immediate release of Baba Jan, along with those 11 others wrongfully convicted on 25th September 2014, as well as the abrogation of the life-imprisonment terms by the Anti-Terrorist Court in Gilgit. #FreeBabaJan

We call upon the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take notice of this long-standing miscarriage of justice and human rights in Gilgit Baltistan & order his release, as has been done in the past by the SCP for other wrongfully-convicted prisoners in GB. #FreeBabaJan

We call for the publication of the long-delayed judicial inquiry into the killing of protestors in Aliabad in August 2011 and for the police officials responsible for killing the two protestors & internally displaced persons to be brought to justice. #FreeBabaJan

We call for an end to the application of draconian laws, including the Anti-Terrorism Act on political workers & activists in Gilgit-Baltistan, and granting GB citizens basic political rights, as per their collective, democratically-expressed will. #FreeBabaJan

We call for the end of centralized, neo-colonial mechanisms of rule in Gilgit-Baltistan and the granting of powers of genuinely autonomous and self-reliant local government to the people of the region. #FreeBabaJan

Please share this video about Baba Jan's story so that more Pakistanis can learn about this tragic miscarriage of justice & correct the wrongs that have been done to Baba Jan & the people of Gilgit Baltistan. #FreeBabaJan