Cardinal Gracias joins calls for release of seven Christians

Men wrongly jailed for murder that triggered 2008 Odisha violence, activists say.

The wives of seven jailed Christians attend the launch of an online campaign calling for the release of their husbands, imprisoned for murdering a Hindu leader in 2008. (Photo supplied)

New Delhi:  Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai has joined a campaign by activists and media people calling for the release of seven Christians, they said were jailed unjustly for the murder of a Hindu leader in India's Odisha state.

Cardinal Gracias has signed an online petition March 14 calling for their release and "is very concerned about their situation," Father Nigel Barret, Mumbai Archdiocese's public relation officer told ucanews.com.

The seven Christian men were jailed for life in October 2013 for murdering local Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in 2008.

The murder triggered anti-Christian violence that lasted more than seven weeks.

At least 100 Christians were killed, and 50,000 people were displaced during the violence.

The online petition claims the seven were convicted following sloppy legal proceedings and on the basis of a "fabricated" Christian conspiracy theory surrounding Saraswati's murder.

Campaigners plan to send the petition to the Indian president, chief justice and chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.

"These seven were jailed as a result of whimsical arguments that were biased because of political reasons," said Father Ajay Singh who has been working for the victims of the violence that erupted after the murder.

"Not a single person, even the few who were convicted, is behind bars now. But these innocent people continue to be incarcerated. What a mockery of justice," said Father Singh, referring to the anti-Christian violence.

"Hardly any credible evidence" was brought before the court against those convicted, said Anto Akkara, a journalist who launched the campaign.

Akkara, who wrote four books on the violence, said two police officers who testified during the seven men's trial had gone back on their testimony last year by admitting to an inquiry into the communal violence that the Christian conspiracy allegations was false.

He and Father Singh said the High Court appeal against the conviction has been repeatedly postponed.

Source: UCAN