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.