EU team blocked from visiting Orissa court dealing with anti-Christian violence

(February 5, 2010) A European Union delegation was blocked on Friday from attending trial courts in riot-hit Kandhamal district of eastern India’s Orissa state, where hearings were going on on cases against people charged with taking part in the anti-Christian violence in 2008. Authorities stopped the diplomats from the planned visit to the courts for what they termed as “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. The team met a group of eight lawyers in Phulbani, the district headquarters, before leaving for Bhubaneswar, the state capital. A lawyer at the meeting told the team that the justice system was “beset with faulty police investigation” and “intimidation of witnesses.” A priest-lawyer said mobs also gather at the courts supporting the criminals and intimidating the victims. 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. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar who met the delegation said those opposing the visit fear it would expose the “real situation” of people in the district. The EU group that includes members from Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom began their visit on Wednesday and were scheduled to leave for New Delhi Friday evening.