Delhi Court Sentences Kashmiri Leader Asiya Andrabi to Life Imprisonment

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Delhi on Tuesday sentenced Kashmiri leader Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment.

Her two associates, Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, were each awarded 30 years in prison.

The three women, all affiliated with the Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), were convicted on January 14, 2026, by Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh under multiple stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including criminal conspiracy (Section 120B), conspiracy to wage war against the government (Section 121A), and offences promoting enmity and disaffection.

The court had acquitted them of the more serious charge of actually waging war under Section 121 IPC and certain terror funding and membership counts, but found them guilty of using speeches, writings, and organisational activities to propagate secessionist narratives and endanger India’s sovereignty and integrity.

All three have been in custody since April 2018, primarily lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, far from their homes in Kashmir.

During sentencing arguments earlier this month, the NIA had strongly pushed for life terms for all three, arguing that a lenient sentence would undermine public confidence in anti-terror laws. The defence had sought to limit further punishment to the nearly eight years already served, citing the women’s age, health issues, and lack of conviction for any violent acts.

Asiya Andrabi (64), founder of DeM, has long been a prominent face of the Kashmir movement.