Evidence planted to implicate Indian Jesuit who died in prison
December 20, 2022 · By UCA News Network for www.ucanews.com
Evidence planted to implicate Indian Jesuit who died in prison
Catholic priests and activists want India’s federal government to “take full responsibility” for the custodial death of Jesuit priest and indigenous rights activist, Father Stan Swamy. The call for justice became louder after US-based digital forensic experts said false evidence was planted on the priest’s computer by hacking it.
The Massachusetts-based Arsenal Consulting, in its report published in the media, disclosed that the doctored digital evidence planted in Father Swamy’s computer was used to incriminate and arrest him.
The 84-year-old Jesuit died as an undertrial prisoner in Mumbai on July 5 last year after being denied bail on medical grounds despite suffering from multiple age-related ailments.
The priest, who fought for the constitutional rights of tribal people for decades, was arrested by India’s anti-terror National Investigation Agency on October 8, 2020, for allegedly having links with banned left-wing Maoist rebels to unleash mob violence in the western state of Maharashtra in 2018.
A student takes part in a demonstration in New Delhi on July 6, 2021, after the Indian rights activist and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, who was detained for nine months without trial under Indian anti-terrorism laws died on July 5 ahead of a bail hearing, officials said. (Photo: AFP)
A Christian network in Pakistan has organized the first theological expo amid concerns over declining theological education in the country. The Theological Educators’ Forum sought to connect Bible training centers for a healthier Church through the expo held last Saturday.
The event at Forman’s Christian College in Lahore drew about 50 theological institutions including Bible schools, laity institutes, seminaries, and Christian recording ministries.
Live worship, gospel singing, a Bible quiz, and sessions on creating better content as well as student-teacher relations were held. The stalls showcased a variety of products from Christian literature, music CDs, and cassettes to Christmas decorations. More than a hundred Bible institutes and seminaries are presently educating thousands of Christians in Muslim-majority Pakistan.
However, theologians are skeptical, ranking them in the “less than fair” category. Father Emmanuel Asi, executive secretary of the Catholic Bible Commission Pakistan, lamented the declining standards of seminary staff and theses written by the students.
Christians in Laos have expressed frustration over alleged police inaction and failure to arrest culprits in the recent murder of an Evangelical pastor. A district-level official responsible for religious affairs said he was unaware of the case and that the police have made no notable progress so far.
Pastor Sy Seng Manee, 48, was found dead near his motorbike in a forest area near the road to Donkeo village in Khammouane province on October 23, three days after he was kidnapped.
The village authorities had reportedly warned him to cease all his religious activities. A law, passed in 2019, allows freedom of religion for Christians and other faiths. However, Christians in the Communist-ruled nation often face sanctions at varied levels from local authorities.
Buddhists, especially those in rural areas, persecute Christians as they consider the faith an alien religion and detrimental to their traditional animist practices.
A South Korean court has lifted government sanctions imposed on a Christian broadcaster for on-air remarks on a proposed anti-discrimination law and same-sex issues in 2020.
Judge Park Jeong-dae of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of Christian TV and lifted the sanctions placed by the Korea Communications Commission on Monday. The judge stated that the sanctions against the broadcaster for negative remarks on LGBTQ rights in the proposed Anti-Discrimination Act did not violate the Broadcasting Act.
Instead, the judge said, the interview program in question was a debate on the legal and social impact of the proposed law on Christianity which prohibits same-sex relations, and as a religious channel, it is entitled to religious freedom protection.
In June 2020, the Justice Party proposed the anti-discrimination bill for the eighth time. The law includes the provision to outlaw LGBTQ discrimination. Rights group Amnesty International reports that discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in various forms is rampant in South Korea amid a lack of laws to protect their rights.
A Catholic religious teacher in Indonesia’s Christian-majority Flores Island is the latest educator to be accused of sexual harassment in the country. The 34-year-old teacher in Manggarai district was reported by five students to the district police last Saturday.
The teacher, now suspended by the school, is alleged to have sexually harassed 17 students, according to a document from the school. The accused teacher denied the allegations.
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