In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has reduced the sentences of two women convicted of supporting the banned terrorist organization Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), emphasizing the complex challenges posed by the misuse of encrypted social media platforms by terrorists. Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma underscored the necessity for courts to consider the implications of social media in terrorism-related offenses.
The convicts, Hina Bashir Beigh and Sadiya Anwar Shaikh, were initially sentenced for their active roles in promoting the activities of ISKP, using their technological savvy and educational backgrounds to further the group’s terrorist agenda. The court observed their use of encrypted platforms to incite violence and support terrorist activities, highlighting a troubling trend of tech-enabled terrorism.
“The appellants were not merely misguided individuals but used their knowledge and resources to commit serious crimes against the state,” Justice Singh noted during the sentencing. The court’s decision to reduce Beigh’s sentence from eight to six years and Shaikh’s from seven to six years took into account their active involvement and the broader context of their actions, including the use of fake identities and shared devices to promote ISKP’s objectives.
