RSSPHULBANI, India (UCAN) — A European Union delegation was today [Feb. 5] blocked from attending trial courts in Kandhamal hearing cases against people charged with taking party in the orgy of anti-christian violence in 2008.
Authorities stopped the diplomats from the planned visit to the courts for “security reasons.” but lawyers say it was to shield a faulty justice system from scrutiny.
EU delegation leader Christophe Manet said the diplomats were “disappointed” by the cancellation
He said the 11-member team was told by the collector, the highest government official in the district, this morning that the court visit had been scrapped.
The team met with a group of eight lawyers in Phulbani, the district headquarters, before leaving for Bhubaneswar, the state capital.
The diplomats are scheduled to leave for New Delhi this evening. They began their visit on Feb. 3.
A lawyer at the meeting told the team that the justice system was “beset with faulty police investigation” and “intimidation of witnesses.”
The administration “could have arranged security if they wanted. Maybe they have other reasons to stop the team from visiting the court,” said the lawyer, who does not want to be named.
The administration had set up two fast-track courts in the district to speed up cases relating to the seven-week-long riot that began Aug. 24, 2008.
Christian leaders and victims say Hindu fanatics “intimidate” witnesses against testifying in the court.
Mobs also gather at the courts supporting the criminals and intimidating the victims, a priest-lawyer said.
The lawyers also told the delegation that several people accused of rioting were not arrested, creating fear among Christians of more violence.
The courts also summon witnesses sometimes too late resulting in their inability to reach in time for the hearing.
The EU delegation came to Kandhamal to gain first-hand information about the situation of those affected by the violence, including their socio-political situation, as well as the criminal justice system.
The violence began after a Hindu leader was shot dead on Aug. 23, 2008.
Hindu fanatic groups blamed Christians for the killing, despite police accusing Maoists for the crime. The violence left at least 90 people dead and displaced about 50,000 others.
Hindu groups had earlier opposed the EU team visiting Kandhamal saying “outsiders” have no right to interfere in India’s internal matters.
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, who heads the Catholic Church in the state, says those opposing the visit fear it would expose the “real situation” of people in the district.
The delegation consists of members from Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
IE08741.1587 February 5, 2010 42 EM-lines (428 words)
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