New Delhi: A special court in Delhi sentenced Kashmiri separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) chief Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, two of Andrabi’s associates, were sentenced to 30 years in prison each.
The 62-year-old Andrabi founded DeM, a Kashmir-based all-women outfit, in 1987. The organisation was banned by the Centre in 2004 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The trio was convicted on January 14, 2026 for their involvement in activities linked to banned organisation DeM, which sought the secession of Jammu and Kashmir from India.
Charges against Andrabi and her associates were framed under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the government of India), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war against the government of India), 124-A (sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153-B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The court also invoked sections 18 (conspires or attempts to commit, or advocates, abets, advises or incites terror act), 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) under the Unlawful UAPA.
The prosecution claimed that the accused were actively involved in promoting separatist ideology, mobilising support and coordinating activities aimed at destabilising the region.
After the National Investigative Agency (NIA) registered a case against the trio and the organisation, on directions of Union Home Ministry, Andrabi and her associates were arrested in April 2018 and are still in custody.
The case is part of a broader crackdown by India on separatist and militant networks operating in Kashmir.
