ICC Note:
Justice continues to be denied for Christians affected by the 2008 anti-Christian riots in India’s northeastern state of Orissa that left over 100 dead and over 50,000 homeless. Using police intimidation, witness tampering and judicial loopholes, Christians devastated by the riots have seen their attackers go free. In particular, seven Christian men remain imprisoned in Orissa, falsely accused of the murder of a Hindu cleric that sparked off the violence. These Christian men have yet to receive a trial of any sort five years after being arrested.        
5/8/2013 India (Catholic Culture) – Five years after an anti-Christian pogrom in the eastern Indian state of Orissa left 100 dead and over 50,000 homeless, justice has been denied to victims because of police inaction and the intimidation of witnesses, according to John Dayal, the lay Catholic journalist who serves as secretary-general of the All India Christian Council.
According to Dayal, Christians in Orissa have filed 3,232 criminal complaints, of which only 1,541 were accepted by police and only 828 resulted in a police “first information report.” Trials followed in 327 cases, which resulted in 169 judicial acquittals affecting 1,597 defendants. In another 86 trials, defendants were convicted of minor offenses.
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