An Indian court in New Delhi on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to leading Kashmiri woman leader and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Indian media reported.
Two of Andrabi’s associates, Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, were sentenced to 30 years in prison each.
The trio had been convicted on January 14 under various provisions of the UAPA and for criminal conspiracy, including charges related to waging war against India.
The sentence follows India’s National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) plea earlier this month seeking life imprisonment for Andrabi.
The agency had argued that she had waged war against India and that a strong message was needed to deter any other conspiracy.
Andrabi is the second Kashmiri leader to face conviction by an NIA court under UAPA, since the abrogation of Article 370 in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the NIA, the accused used their banned organisation, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, to incite unrest and push for the secession of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir from India. The agency also told the court that Andrabi has a long history of alleged criminal activity, with 33 FIRs registered against her across Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Her co-accused Fehmeeda and Nasreen are also linked to multiple cases, with nine and five FIRs respectively. The convictions include offences under Sections 20, 38 and 39 of the UAPA, related to membership and support of a terrorist organisation.
