An Indian court on Thursday convicted a top Kashmiri separatist leader in a terrorism-related case that carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Mohammed Yasin Malik had been charged with terrorist acts, illegally raising funds, being a member of a terrorist organization, and criminal conspiracy and sedition.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Judge Praveen Singh set May 25 for hearing arguments from both sides on sentencing, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The judge also directed Malik to provide an affidavit regarding his financial assets.
During the trial, Malik protested the charges and said he was a freedom fighter.
"Terrorism-related charges leveled against me are concocted, fabricated and politically motivated," his organization, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, cited him as telling the court.
"If seeking Azadi (freedom) is a crime, then I am ready to accept this crime and its consequences,” he told the judge.
The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front was one of the first armed rebel groups to come into existence in Indian-controlled Kashmir. It supported an independent and united Kashmir. Led by Malik, the group gave up armed rebellion in 1994.
An insurgency broke out in Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1989 with fighters demanding an independent Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training rebel groups to fight Indian forces, a charge Pakistan denies. Islamabad says it provides only moral and diplomatic support to insurgents.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since British colonialists granted them independence in 1947. Both claim the region in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars over control of Kashmir.
Read more: Indian forces kill 62 militants this year in disputed Kashmir: Police
Also Read
-
Kashmiri Hindus protest killing of minority community member
Hindus in Indian-controlled Kashmir staged protests on Friday a day after assailants shot and killed a government employee from the minority community ... World News -
India’s Kashmir region gets redrawn political constituencies ahead of elections
India published on Thursday a new list of redrawn political constituencies for the former state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), giving greater ... World News -
Indian forces kill 62 militants this year in disputed Kashmir: Police
Indian security forces have killed 62 militants, including 15 foreigners, in the disputed Jammu & Kashmir region this year, a senior police official ... World News -
Prime Minister Modi visits Indian-controlled Kashmir amid tight security
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Himalayan Kashmir on Sunday his first public event since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s ... World News -
US congresswoman visits Pakistani part of disputed Kashmir, draws India’s ire
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar made a rare visit by a US lawmaker to Pakistan’s part of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir on Thursday and said the ... World News -
Kashmir journalist arrested under India’s anti-terror law
Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir have arrested a young journalist on accusations of publishing “anti-national content,” police said, in a widening ... World News -
Indian forces kill militants in disputed Kashmir, Pakistan condemns deaths
Indian forces have killed five militants, including a top commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) insurgent group, in stepped-up operations in the ... World News -
Six militants, soldier killed in Indian Kashmir during crackdown against insurgents
Indian security forces shot dead six militants and lost one soldier in a series of operations in disputed Kashmir on Thursday, as a crackdown against ... World News -
India sends thousands more troops to restive Kashmir after targeted killings
India has sent thousands more paramilitary troops into its section of Kashmir, after a string of targeted killings by suspected rebels in recent ... World News
