Explained: The 2017 terror-funding case in which Kashmir separatist leader Yasin Malik is sentenced to life

A Delhi court on Wednesday sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik to life in prison in a 2017 terror funding case.

The life term was given for two offences: Section 121 (waging war against the government of India) of IPC and section 17 (raising funds for the terrorist act) of the UAPA.

Special Judge Praveen Singh also awarded varying jail terms for various offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

All the sentences are to run concurrently.

The court also imposed a fine of over Rs 10 lakh on the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief.

This development comes after the court had on 19 May convicted Malik and directed the NIA authorities to assess his financial situation to determine the amount of fine likely to be imposed.

Here’s what you need to know about the case:

When was Malik arrested?

Malik was arrested by the NIA in 2019 in connection with an overarching terror-funding case that it had opened in 2017.

What was he charged with?

Malik had been charged under the UAPA for committing a terrorist act, raising funds for terrorism, being a member of a terrorist group and part of a criminal conspiracy, and sedition.

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As per Indian Express, the NIA said Kashmiri separatists were receiving funds from Pakistan, including from Hafiz Saeed of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Syed Salahuddin of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, to foment trouble in the Valley through stone-pelting, burning down of schools, and organising strikes and protests.

The NIA arrested over a dozen separatists in the case, including Malik, Asiya Andrabi of the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, and Shabir Shah of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, as per the report.

Who else was charged?

The NIA court had formally framed the charges against Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor.

The charge sheet was also filed against Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, who have been declared proclaimed offenders (PO) in the case.

What did the NIA argue?

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday had urged the court to give the death penalty to Malik. NIA SPP (Special Public Prosecutor) told the court that Yasin Malik is responsible, in part, for the Kashmiri exodus.

As per The Print, the NIA argued that 56-year-old Malik should be given death penalty, because his actions affected society and created disturbances in the Valley and an example must be set. The NIA also said that Malik was a “hardcore criminal” and didn’t regret his path.

The agency listed out the charges against him, saying he orchestrated an elaborate structure for terror activities in the name of freedom struggle.

The NIA further stated that Malik spearheaded the protests in 2016 by issuing “Protest Calendars” — following the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in July that year — and said that 89 cases of stone-pelting were reported during those agitations, as per the report.

What did Malik tell the court?

Malik had on 10 May told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him that included sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for the terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act), and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the IPC.

The lawyer who attended the court proceeding said in the courtroom, “Yasin said that if I have been involved in any terrorist activity or violence in 28 years, if Indian Intelligence proves this, then I will also retire from politics. I will accept the hanging. With seven Prime Ministers, I have worked.”

On the demand by NIA for the death penalty to the separatist leader, Malik said, “I will not beg for anything. The case is before this court and I left on the court to decide it.”

What did the court say?

The NIA judge while passing the order of conviction had said, “The analysis reflects that the statements of witnesses and documentary evidence have connected almost all the accused with each other and to a common object of secession, to the commonality of means they were to use, their close association to terrorist/ terrorist organizations under the guiding hand and funding of Pakistani establishment.”

With inputs from agencies

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