The Staines were burnt alive
|
A court in the eastern Indian state of Orissa has said that it will announce its verdict on 8 September in a case relating to the murder of an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two young sons.
Fourteen men stood trial on charges of burning Mr Staines alive, along with the sons - Philip, who was ten, and Timothy, eight.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty. They face the death penalty if convicted.
The incident took place in a remote village in Orissa in late January, 1999.
The killings of Mr Staines and his sons were condemned in India and around the world. But a BBC correspondent in Orissa says they were followed by other attacks on India's Christian minority.
Jeep torched
The Staines died when the jeep they were sleeping in was torched outside a church in the village of Manoharpur.
Right-wing Hindus who complained that co-religionists were being pressured to convert to Christianity were blamed at the time of the attack on the Staines.
However, an official inquiry into the attack said there was no evidence organised Hindu groups were behind it.
Two years ago, a boy, Sudershan Hansda, was convicted in relation to the killings and sentenced to seven years in a juvenile home.
'Sufficient evidence'
The 14 accused men have been on trial for the past two-and-a-half years.
 |
All the defendants were involved in the crime
|
In his final statement on Monday, their lawyer Bramhananda Panda said: "All of them were innocent and should be set free."
But prosecutor Sudhakar Rao said "all [the defendants] were involved in the crime" and there was sufficient evidence to prove this.
One of the accused men, Dara Singh, is also accused of organising attacks on a Muslim businessman and Roman Catholic priest after the Staines were killed.
Police believe villagers helped him hide for a year out of sympathy with his campaign against Muslims and Christians.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~24~RS~)
One-Minute World News
News services
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
