Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi sentenced to life imprisonment

A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment, PTI reported.

Andrabi, alleged to be the founder and chief of the banned all-women separatist group Dukhtaraan-e-Millat, and two of her associates had been convicted under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act on January 14.

Her associates, Nahida Nasreen and Fahmeeda Sofi, have been sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment, reported Bar and Bench.

Andrabi had been arrested in April 2018 by the Jammu and Kashmir Police for allegedly planning a large-scale demonstration in Anantnag. She had been sent to jail in Srinagar.

While Andrabi was allegedly the head of the banned outfit, Fehmeeda served as its press secretary and Nasreen as the general secretary, Bar and Bench reported.

In addition to the anti-terror law, the three women were convicted under sections of the Indian Penal Code related to promoting enmity between groups, imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration, conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India, criminal conspiracy and statements conducing to public mischief.

After the conviction, the National Investigation Agency had sought life imprisonment for Andrabi, Hindustan Times reported.

The agency accused the three women of spreading “insurrectionary imputations and hateful messages and speeches against India” through social media, the newspaper reported.

“The convicts are well-educated women, and their acts were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to wage war against the...

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