'Release detainees': Top social activist condemns long prison sentences for Kashmiri women

By A Representative 

Noted social activist and Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey has strongly condemned the life imprisonment and lengthy prison sentences handed down by a special NIA court to senior Kashmiri leader Aasiya Andrabi and her two associates, describing the verdict as a politically motivated act that violates principles of justice and human rights.

Mr. Pandey, a well-known social scientist who was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2002 for his grassroots work with Asha for Education, asserted that the sentences reflect an attempt to suppress dissent in Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking in his capacity as secretary general of the Socialist Party (India), he termed the verdict a continuation of what he called "organized state oppression" and argued that the judiciary has failed to maintain an impartial role in the region, often acting as "an instrument of the state narrative."

The court sentenced Andrabi, the founder of the now-banned women's organization Dukhtaran-e-Millat, to life imprisonment, while her aides, Fehmeeda Sofi and Nahida Nasreen, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. The three women were convicted in January under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for conspiracy and waging war against the state. The NIA court, while sentencing them, observed that the convicts had promoted the idea that "Kashmir is not a part of India" and had eulogized slain terrorists. Andrabi has been in custody since 2018 and has over 30 cases registered against her.

Mr. Pandey, who has a longstanding record of taking principled stances on issues of civil liberties and institutional accountability, questioned the detention of approximately 2,500 residents of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the Pahalgam terrorist attack. He noted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier confirmed to Parliament that the terrorists responsible for the April 22, 2025 attack were killed in Operation Mahadev in July 2025. He also called for the immediate release of over a hundred people detained for participating in mourning gatherings following the death of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in late February.

The issue of detentions has also been raised by political groups within Jammu and Kashmir; earlier this month, a delegation of National Conference legislators submitted a memorandum to the Lieutenant Governor seeking the release of detainees, particularly as the holy month of Ramzan draws to a close. Mr. Pandey emphasized that tactics of force, arrests, and imprisonment have neither dampened the morale of the Kashmiri people nor stopped their struggle, and urged that all those detained be released immediately.