NIA Court Sentences Kashmiri Separatist Aasiya Andrabi to Life Imprisonment Amid Global Outcry Over Dissent Suppression

The UAPA, an anti-terror law introduced in 2008 by the centrist Congress party, was significantly strengthened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing government through 2019 amendments that allowed authorities to designate individuals as terrorists. While the NIA accused Andrabi of waging war against the Indian government, raising funds for terrorist acts, and maintaining membership in a terrorist group, the 290-page judgment revealed that the court found no evidence to support these specific charges. Consequently, the court dropped the major charges of financing terrorist acts and instigating armed rebellion. Despite this lack of evidence, the court convicted Andrabi on less serious allegations, including undermining national integration, provoking community hostility, and instigating public disorder.

Judge Chander Jit Singh noted in his judgment that while video evidence, interviews, and posts showed the convicts approved of or encouraged stone pelting and the use of guns toward a secessionist approach, no specific violent incidents resulting from such encouragement were brought on record. The judge argued that while the acts might not be the direct cause of inciting violence, infusing the minds of Kashmiri youth with the idea that India has occupied the region illegally could evoke sentiments leading to violence. A Kashmir-based legal researcher speaking on the condition of anonymity argued that while ideology is not typically punishable by law, the widened scope of the UAPA now criminalizes a person’s beliefs. They further noted that Indian law is designed to ensure freedom of speech does not protect actions or speech made in favor of separatism.

The sentencing has been described by Andrabi’s son, Ahmed bin Qasim, as effectively a death sentence, noting that his mother has already spent over a decade in various Indian jails since her first imprisonment in 1993. Her husband, Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, a former rebel leader, has been imprisoned since 1992 and was convicted in 2003 for the murder of human rights activist H N Wanchoo. In the verdict, the judge asserted that the court was not obliged to show compassion because the convicts displayed no remorse, suggesting that leniency could send a message that others could promote secessionist ideas and escape with short incarcerations. This stance was criticized by the Kashmir Times in a March 25 editorial, which labeled the focus on a lack of repentance as deeply problematic, arguing that elevating subjective internal states to central legal considerations risks penalizing belief rather than proven illegal acts.

Born in 1962 in Srinagar, Andrabi’s life spans the history of the turbulent Himalayan territory claimed by India, Pakistan, and China. An undergraduate in biochemistry with a master’s in Arabic, she formed Dukhtaran-e-Millat in 1987, initially focusing on education and Islamic women's rights. The group became known for its strict enforcement of conservative norms, including lashing out at women for not observing purdah and demanding the closure of beauty salons and liquor stalls. Following the allegedly rigged 1987 elections, Andrabi transitioned into a political hardliner and staunch advocate for Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan, eventually labeling participation in Indian elections as forbidden. While a BJP member noted that DeM was declared a terrorist organization in 2004 and argued the conviction was long overdue for her role in canvassing for secession, academic Ather Zia argued that the state is using "liberal feminism" as a pretext to stifle dissent, flattening complex political actors into caricatures to discipline resistance in the region.