APHC slams Andrabi life sentence

Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader and Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement (JKSM) Chairman Altaf Ahmed Bhat has denounced the sentencing of prominent Kashmiri leader Aasiya Andrabi and her associates as politically motivated. They urged the international community to take urgent notice of a deepening pattern of repression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The criticism follows an Indian court's decision to sentence Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Aasiya Andrabi to life imprisonment, while her associates Fehmida Sofi and Nahida Nasreen were handed 30-year prison terms. In a statement, Bhat deplored the case as fabricated and said the verdict, delivered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), reflected a broader strategy to silence pro-freedom voices in the region. "These fabricated cases are not about justice," Bhat said. "They are designed to imprison, discredit and destroy the leadership of a people striving for their basic rights." He argued that such measures undermine the rule of law and form part of a systematic campaign against dissenting political voices in Kashmir. Bhat further stated that similar tactics have been used repeatedly against Kashmiri leadership, pointing to the detention-related deaths of figures such as Ashraf Sehrai, Syed Ali Geelani and Altaf Ahmed Shah. He said these leaders were denied adequate medical care and basic rights while in custody, leading to fatal consequences. He added that authorities routinely subject detained Hurriyat leaders to harsh conditions, including denial of medical treatment and prolonged incarceration without due process. According to Bhat, several leaders, including Yaseen Malik, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Masarat Alam Bhat, Dr Abdul Hameed Fayyaz and Zaffar Akbar Bhat, remain imprisoned under deteriorating health conditions. "This is not justice. This is persecution," Bhat said. "When judicial systems are used as instruments of repression, detainees become prisoners of politics, not law." He maintained that such practices reflect a broader effort to suppress political movements through legal instruments rather than engage in meaningful dialogue. Calling for global intervention, Bhat urged international human rights organisations and the United Nations to hold India accountable. He stressed that the use of fabricated cases to detain political leaders must be challenged, and called for renewed international pressure on New Delhi to implement United Nations resolutions on Kashmir, including the right to self-determination.