Indian court sentences Kashmiri leader to life in prison

By ASHOK SHARMA and AIJAZ HUSSAIN
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court has sentenced a Kashmiri separatist leader to life in prison after declaring him guilty of terrorism and sedition, triggering a clash between protesters and police and a partial shutdown of businesses in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Mohammed Yasin Malik led the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, one of the first armed rebel groups in the Indian-held area, but later shifted to peaceful means in seeking the end of Indian rule. Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since British colonialists granted it independence in 1947. Both countries claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars over its control. Malik was arrested most recently in 2019.